Bonds of Brothers
by Illustrado
Summary: Dying during the Fourth Shinobi War, Sasuke Uchiha is reincarnated as Keiji Kurosaki, a boy with an unfortunate knack for attracting the supernatural. Now at a young age of nine, he has to learn to control his new-found power as he faces his dark past and fights new enemies. Warning: AU, OOC, with yaoi elements (K.Urahara/Ichigo/Shinji)
1. Prologue

**Warning**: AU, OOC, with yaoi elements (K. Urahara/Ichigo/Shinji). May contain lemons in later chapters.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Bleach or Naruto.

* * *

**Prologue**

A young man lay on the dirt, trying to catch his breath while a deep wound at his right side bleeds profusely.

"Sasuke-kun…" a young woman called his name. She lifted his head and placed him gently on her lap. "Don't die on us, please…" Her voice trembles as tears pours down from her eyes. Her right hand, which emits a warm green light, lingers over Sasuke's wound while she tries to stop the bleeding.

Sasuke focused his gaze at the young woman. '_Sakura?_' he thought as he recognized her unique pink hair despite his vision becoming more blurry.

"Get up, teme…" a blonde, blue-eyed young man said as he knelt beside Sakura. "We won the war, damn it... We should already head home to Konoha…" his voice is full of sorrow as he watches his friend dying.

'_Naruto, huh? Home, you say? But I don't know where my home is..._' Sasuke thought painfully until darkness gradually consumed his vision. The voices around him became nothing but whispers. The sounds are slowly dying until silence prevailed.


	2. Chapter 1

**My Brother, A Shinigami  
**

_**You don't have to forgive me. ****No matter what you decide from now on, ****I will love you forever… **_

_...Words softly said that for some reason, left a lump in my throat when I heard them. _

_I could not discern the man in front of me though… the man who said those words. _

_I know him... _

_My soul tells me that I know him... that he is somehow important to me... _

_My heart aches of the bond that I have with this man._

_A bond that is scarred..._

_But as I tried harder to go through my memories to recall who he is..._

_Everything is suddenly becoming hazy and the world around me seems to swirl slowly until darkness surrounded me... _

* * *

Name: Keiji/Kei Kurosaki

Age: 9

Occupation: grade school student

Hair color: black

Eye color: black

* * *

'_That dream again... It's becoming more frequent_…' Keiji thought bitterly as he massaged his temple. The dream he had always leaves him a terrible headache.

Slowly, he sat up in his bed. Though already awake, his body is still sleepy, making his movements sluggish. He gave a sigh before he glanced at his bedside table to see that the alarm clock has not gone off yet.

'_Why do I bother to set this thing when I always wake up before it even rings_…' He reached for the alarm clock, then turned it off.

'_A minute before six… Well, I should get up before Dad starts his morning antics_…' With these thoughts, he got out of bed leisurely, yawned and then stretched his arms and legs.

'_Time to start counting_…' he grimaced as he moved his head in circular motion to get the sleepiness out of his system. '_Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one_…'

"GOOD MOOORNIIING KEIJI!"

A man in his mid to late thirties with similar black hair and black eyes just flew from the window to Keiji's bedroom. He nonchalantly gave the man a kick in the face that sent the latter colliding painfully against the wall before falling face first on the floor.

As if nothing happened, Keiji continues his morning exercise, stretching his arms and legs, and then moving his head in a circular motion.

"Very good, my son! I, your father, Isshin Kurosaki is very proud of you…" the man who happens to be his father said while massaging his own face where Keiji kicked him.

No matter how many times he tells his father to stop this routine, the man would not listen and still childishly continue to torment him and his older brother every morning.

Standing up, his father continued spouting praises. "You're improving greatly and better than your older brother Ichigo, if I might say! You're very much like me!" he added, nodding his approval vigorously with arms folded in front of him.

"And that's the last thing I wanna be…" Keiji muttered with a quick annoyed glance at his father.

"Keep up the good work Kei-chan!" his father exclaimed with a thumbs up before walking or rather hopping through the door while saying, "Time to wake up Ichigo!"

"Oh brother…" Keiji shook his head in defeat before smiling softly as he looked at the door where his father just left.

Knowing what will happen next, he started counting from ten to one until a crash, a yell and a curse are heard from his brother's room, signaling the official start of their day.

"Well… good morning Kurosakis…" he muttered as he went to prepare for school.

* * *

"What is that for Ichi-nii?" Keiji asked, adjusting his skateboard that he carries at his back. He, his older brother Ichigo and older sisters Yuzu and Karin are on their way to their respective schools when he noticed a bunch of flowers sticking out of Ichigo's bag.

"It's for the girl next block…" Ichigo answered without looking at him, a permanent scowl plastered on his face.

"You mean the soul of the girl who just died there? You don't have to bother. She has moved on…" Keiji answered solemnly.

"I'll find out later…" Ichigo remarked as they continue walking.

As far as Keiji knows, seeing ghosts is normal for most members of his family. He, Ichigo and Karin can see them clearly while Yuzu can feel them. The only one among them who cannot see or feel any ghosts is their father.

However, unlike his two siblings, Keiji is 'hi-spec' as Karin describes him. He cannot only see ghosts but can also speak with them and touch them. But lately, Keiji observed that Ichigo has developed the same abilities.

Apart from the normal souls of dead people though, Keiji can also interact with shinigamis or spirits that guide the dead to 'heaven', and hollows or evil spirits that prey on innocent souls.

'_The old man shinigami already sent the girl to 'heaven' or Soul Society_…' Keiji knew of this fact since he often interacts with the shinigami. But he did not mention that to Ichigo. In fact, his family doesn't even know that he can see other spirit entities apart from the normal souls of the dead. '_They don't have to know_…' He grimaced as he remembered the shinigami.

'_This is Akihara-san's last day in Karakura... I need to see him before he goes back to Soul Society..._' Keiji thought, referring to the Karakura town's assigned shinigami, Akihara Sato.

He was only six years old when he first saw the shinigami jumping from the rooftop of a building to another. Ever since then, he had kept on bugging the old man until the two had become friends eventually.

He reached out for his skateboard before saying, "I need to go ahead guys… I have to meet someone first before school…" He then rode his skateboard, leaving his bewildered siblings.

He turned in a corner, and then continued to skateboard until he reached a dilapidated building. Looking up, he saw an old man in a black shihakusho with a katana tied on his hip. The old man is Akihara Sato.

Akihara, the shinigami has taught him the basics of controlling the inherent power within him that shinigamis call reiatsu. Keiji seems to have an unnatural high level of reiatsu that attracts hollows. Thus, he told Keiji to always meditate and think of compressing the ball of energy inside him to keep his reiatsu in low.

But apart from reiatsu control, Akihara is cautious not to teach Keiji anything else about being a shinigami even if the latter continuously bothers him about it. Keiji realized that it might be against their law to teach their techniques to humans. But that doesn't mean that he did not pick up a thing or two from what he saw from the old man. He was able to imitate the powerful techniques that the man called kido and had practiced them on hollows, much to the shinigami's annoyance. Although not as fast as the shinigami, Keiji can also do flash-step or shunpo, which is an ability to move fast from a location to another in a blink of an eye.

"Hey, old man!" Keiji called out. "I've come to say goodbye…" he smiled sadly as he awkwardly scratched the back of his head while looking up at the shinigami.

The shinigami jumped down in front of Keiji and ruffled his hair.

"The next shinigami here is from a noble clan. Her name is Rukia Kuchiki. I'm not really sure if she will tolerate a human to bother her as I tolerated you to bother me…" he said, shaking his head as he looks down on Keiji.

"Be careful, alright? And I don't want to see you in Soul Society anytime soon…" Akihara gave him a sad smile. "And don't forget to control your reiatsu. Always keep it in check. And don't you dare go looking for any trouble, young man… hollows in particular…" he added as he placed both hands on his hips while looking at Keiji through narrowed eyes.

"I don't go around looking for hollows… they usually find me…" Keiji said defensively with a pout.

"That's because you intentionally flare your reiatsu, idiot…" Akihara exclaimed, giving Keiji a thump in the head. Whenever Keiji wanted to practice a kido in the past, he would always flare his reiatsu to attract hollows and use them for practice.

"Ouch! I always tell you, old man, I'm anything but idiot! And I can take care of myself now..." Keiji cried out as he massaged his head where Akihara's fist landed.

"Yes… That, I agree…" Akihara said fondly. '_If you probably attend the academy, you'd be able to finish it in a year… a real prodigy…_' he thought with a smile.

"Oh, by the way Akihara-san… I always see a dragon when I meditate. It says he's my zanpaktou or something. The retard won't say his name though…" Keiji said seriously, tilting his head a bit to look at the shinigami.

Akihara gaped at him, his mouth moved as if he was about to say something but stopped.

"Well?" Keiji stared at him with a raised eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?" he asked impatiently with a frown.

"What exactly are you?" Akihara asked in amazement instead. "Never in my entire shinigami career did I meet a human who can fire kido, mimic shunpo or communicate with a zanpaktou… To top it all, that human is still a nine-year old kid!"

"That's not really nice of you… Asking what I am, that is…" Keiji complained, folding his arms in front and tilting his head on one side while staring at the man through narrowed eyes. The other however, just shook his head and smiled at him fondly.

Seeing that Akihara is not going to give him answers, Keiji sighed and said instead, "Whatever… I'll just find out myself…"

He stared at the shinigami for a moment, and then stood up straight with both arms at his side before he bowed. "Thank you Akihara-san. Thank you for looking after me…"

"That's my job kid… Now off you go… else you'll be late in school…" Akihara said, shooing Keiji with a hand.

"Fine, fine… I know when I'm not wanted anymore… Take care, old man! See you when I see you…" Keiji said with a wave of his right hand as he walked away.

* * *

The sound of school bell signaled the end of classes for the day. Like most students, Keiji was just too happy to go home.

"It's Friday…" Keiji muttered to himself as he walks alone. '_Dad is on an out-of-town conference… Or so he said…_' He suddenly stopped walking.

'_Should I go home? Or meditate somewhere… I'll probably have him say his name…_' he smiled wickedly as he made his decision.

'_I just have to call home and say I'll spend the night at a friend's house…_' he thought and immediately did as he decided when he saw a telephone booth.

He dialed a number then waited until somebody answered at the other end.

"Kurosaki residence…" his sister Karin answered in a monotone voice.

"Yo! Karin nee-chan, this is Keiji… I'll spend the night at a friend's house so I won't be home…" he said, speaking fast lest he may stumble over his words and his sister may notice him lying.

'_It's just a little lie…_' he thought as he weighed the pros and cons of what he was about to do. '_Besides… Ichi-nii will be there to look after them…_'

"Fine… take care of your self, okay?" Karin said, her voice sounding a little annoyed.

'_Geez… I probably disturbed her manga reading..._' Keiji thought, scratching his head with a deadpan look.

"Sure, sure... Bye, bye!" He hanged up immediately, and then rode his skateboard towards the dilapidated building where he went that morning.

Entering the said building, he went upstairs until he reached the rooftop. Taking a deep breath, he slid down his bag and skateboard before squatting on the floor and closing his eyes.

He opened his eyes again to look at his new surroundings. A cave. He is in a cave lit by torches attached to the cave wall. He spread his reiatsu, familiarizing his self to his inner world, the world of his zanpaktou.

"You've come again…" a black dragon lying far behind Keiji said. The most notable characteristic of it is its red menacing eyes with three tomoe.

"I told you… I'll tell you my name if you just die…" the dragon growled viciously.

"Well, that won't happen anytime soon… I just come here to visit you anyway…" Keiji said calmly, deciding not to push his luck this time. '_I'll get his name some other time..._' he thought as he walked towards the dragon boldly.

His action doesn't seem to please the dragon as it growled even more dangerously and spewed black flames towards him.

"Hnn…" Keiji moved out of the flames way easily. He jumped, back flipped in mid-air and landed beside the dragon. He sat down, his back leaning against the dragon before closing his eyes in relaxation.

"I told you not to do that…" the dragon said, referring to Keiji's proximity to him. It moved its head sideways to see Keiji resting against him. Sighing, the dragon conceded and laid his head on the cave ground instead.

Both are silent and just enjoying the peace and quiet of the cave. But after several minutes, the dragon decided to talk to Keiji. "I cannot materialize into a sword if you're still trapped in your human body…"

"That much I realized… I'm thinking of a way to leave this body without harming it much. I need to get back to it... " Keiji said matter-of-factly, tilting his head upwards and stared at the cave ceiling. "Even though I have a potential to become a shinigami, I am still a human and I still belong to the living world..."

The dragon did not comment as if waiting for Keiji to conitue.

"There must be a way... a loophole in this situation... but I cannot think of anything and my only option for now is to go to that shop and ask for that man's help. But I don't want to go there…" Keiji muttered, referring to Urahara shop.

"But those people can help you. After all he is your father's friend, is he not?" the dragon said softly, knowing full well that what he said is a sensitive topic to Keiji.

"How he came to know a shinigami-in-hiding, I don't know... And honestly, I don't care at this moment. He has reasons why he's not telling us about his past. That much is obvious… Like how I'm not telling them about me..." Keiji muttered darkly as he leaned back against the dragon before closing his eyes.

He recalled the time when he saw his father going to Urahara shop. He followed him and saw the two men talking animatedly. Both did not realize that Keiji was nearby since he has at that time, already learned to mask his reiatsu well. Later on, he learned from Akihara about the man named Kisuke Urahara. A former Captain of the Gotei Thirteen, the man vanished about a century ago and is hiding from the authorities of Soul Society due to a crime he was involved in. But when Keiji asked Akihara if he believes that Urahara is capable of doing a crime, the man looked away and did not give any answer.

The cave is quiet once again as both Keiji and the dragon are immersed in their own thoughts. Keiji, once in a while sighed heavily, as he obviously is still thinking of a way to solve their dilemma when suddenly, a strong reiatsu hits his senses.

"Did you feel that?" he asked, sitting up straight instantly. He closed his eyes to feel whose reiatsu had just flared, only to open them in surprise and dread.

He immediately left his zanpaktou world. Standing up, he gathered his bag and skateboard and ran outside the building.

"Those reiatsu… Ichigo, Yuzu and Karin… Please be safe…" he muttered as he gritted his teeth in anger.

'_There's a hollow near them… and a shinigami too…_' he thought, recognizing the core of their reiatsu.

He pushed his left foot hard against the street. His skateboard ran fast and barely dodged people and vehicles as he made his way towards their house.

A block away from his destination, he stopped and picked up his skateboard. He ran, and then stopped again when he heard the howl of the hollow nearby. Deciding to first observe the situation, he moved under a bush, and then crawled until he got a view of their house.

The image that greeted him made him gasped, his eyes wide in surprise as he saw there in front of their house, his older brother Ichigo in shinigami clothes, swinging a very large sword at the hollow.

'_What the hell…_'


	3. Chapter 2

**Where Our Bond Started**

Previous Chapter:

_The image that greeted him made him gasped, his eyes wide in surprise as he saw there in front of their house, his older brother Ichigo in shinigami clothes, swinging a very large sword at the hollow._

_'What the hell…'_

* * *

'_It has been a week since that night…_'Keiji frowned as he swings a wooden sword and matches it with a series of kicks as if he is fighting an imaginary enemy. He is practicing sword-fighting and hand-to-hand combat in the dilapidated building where he used to meet the former shinigami Akihara Sato.

'_Are you jealous that your brother suddenly became shinigami?_' his dragon zanpaktou sneered inside his mind.

'_You know I'm not!_' Keiji huffed indignantly. '_I don't like the situation he got himself into… that's all…_'

He stopped suddenly, took a deep breath and then exhaled, repeating the action for a couple of times before sitting on the floor. He placed his wooden sword on his lap before he entered the world of his zanpaktou.

He slowly opened his eyes to see the black dragon resting on the cave, a sight so familiar to him now. This world is his sanctuary.

He made his way to the dragon in a leisurely phase then squat on the ground near its head while the dragon's menacing red eyes followed his every movement. He heaved a sigh before placing both elbows on his lap, and then leaning forward and placing his chin on both hands.

"Akihara-san was very cautious not to divulge much information about shinigami to me. He didn't teach me anything apart from reiatsu control and that is so hollows will not go after me always. I've realized then that it might be against their law or something … The Kuchiki, however…" Keiji said the name through gritted teeth. "She's too careless to give her shinigami power to Ichigo…"

"It was the only way to protect your family…" the dragon stated matter-of-factly.

"I know…" Keiji muttered guiltily, looking away from the dragon. He partly blamed himself for his brother's current situation. He believes that if only he was at home, he might have killed the hollow before it can even go near his siblings.

"But now, Soul Society might already know that she lost her power. Then they'll probably investigate the situation to know the reason behind it. They will eventually find out that my brother absorbed her power. Now, what do you think will they do? Give him a reward for being a shinigami substitute?" Keiji said sarcastically though he is deeply bothered. "My brother is just so naïve at times… He doesn't seem to think that there are consequences to his actions… the douche… His sense of justice is so unbelievable! What does he think he is? A manga hero?"

"Quit whining. Why don't you just tell him about your worries..." the dragon suggested.

"Are you serious?" Keiji asked incredulously. "Then I have to admit that I can see shinigami, too..."

"What's wrong about that? Aren't you glad that you both have the same ability?" the dragon asked.

"I honestly don't know…" he mumbled, folding his arms at the back of his head before lying down and staring at the cave ceiling. "Although Ichi-nii and I have high reiatsu and can interact with dead souls, shinigami and hollows, I still feel so different from him. I feel a tremendous power within me. It's suffocating at times... and frightening. I don't want to bother anyone about this..."

_'You're so much like your brother in that way...'_ the dragon thought and sighed inwardly.

The dragon did not say anything anymore and closed its eyes instead. Keiji and his zanpaktou had been enjoying quiet times together more often. He would enter this world then sat beside the dragon, not saying anything, just spending time with the zanpaktou.

After almost an hour of resting, Keiji stood up, and then stretched his arms and legs a bit. "It's getting late… I need to get home early. It is mom's death anniversary tomorrow… and my birthday, too", Keiji said softly before leaving.

* * *

"What are you buying in the bookstore anyway?" Rukia asked Ichigo, curious that the latter is too quiet and going to a place so unlike him.

"Just a gift for my brother… Tomorrow is his birthday…" Ichigo answered without looking at her as he walked ahead.

"Is that the reason you want to take a day off from your shinigami responsibilities?" she asked, a little irritated.

Ichigo suddenly stopped walking. He looked over his shoulder to stare at Rukia, his face impassive.

"Tomorrow is also the day our mother died…" he answered with a distant look in his eyes before leaving Rukia behind.

* * *

"Well, that sums up everything for the trip. Now, how about Kei-chan's birthday…!" Isshin exclaimed as they discuss preparations for the following day at their dining table.

"Dad… I told you, I don't feel like celebrating. Birthday celebration is just for small kids… I'm already a young man…" Keiji grumbled as he laid his head on the table, groaning.

"Nonsense! We'll be having a party tomorrow night and that's final… Yuzu, you're in charge…" his father ordered.

"Of course! Now Kei-chan… Tell me what you would like for your birthday…" Yuzu looked at Keiji with enthusiasm.

Keiji groaned again before answering his sister.

"Why don't you just surprise me…" Keiji told Yuzu coolly since he can't think of something that he wanted at the moment.

Yuzu knitted her brows a little as she thought of a special menu for her brother's party.

"Now you've given her something difficult to think…" Karin and Keiji grinned.

"Alright, that's settled then… Go to bed. We'll be leaving early tomorrow so we can get back early and prepare for Kei-chan's party…" Isshin stood up and left for bed. Yuzu and Karin followed, leaving Ichigo and Keiji alone.

Keiji glanced at Ichigo, noticing how his brother is acting the whole time.

'_Geez… He's too quiet again. He still blames his self for mom's death…_' he thought as he noticed Ichigo trying to look normal but failing miserably. Deciding to leave his brother alone at the moment, Keiji stood up and was about to leave.

"Kei!" Ichigo called out, scratching his head and not really looking at his brother, like he is embarrassed about something.

"Need anything Ichi-nii?" Keiji asked with a little confusion at his brother's behavior.

"Not really…" Ichigo answered, turning at his side as he picked up a parcel he placed in an empty chair beside him. Scratching the back of his head again, he handed the parcel over to Keiji.

Keiji took the parcel with a puzzled look then realized that it's a gift for his birthday.

"You do know that my birthday is not today, right?" he asked as he placed his brother's gift on the table and proceeded to rip it open.

"Of course I do… I just want to be the first to give you a gift"Ichigo muttered, a little embarrassed.

"Oh… That's so sweet of you!" Keiji teased, making Ichigo turn red.

"Shut up! Just open the god damn package…" Ichigo retorted, folding his arms in front of him and turning his face away from Keiji.

Keiji chuckled at his brother's embarrassment while he opened the gift. He took out a book, a writing pad and a pen from it and then read the title of the book.

"Basics in Novel Writing…" he smiled and immediately grabbed his brother in a tight hug. Only in such times that he acts his age.

"Thanks a lot Ichi-nii!" grinning, he released his brother and opened the book immediately.

"That's nothing… You said that you wanted to be a writer... I'm glad you like it…" Ichigo gave him a forced smile then ruffled his hair. "Well, I'm going to bed then… and you should, too" he added quietly before leaving Keiji.

'_You're just making your self suffer... We don't blame you for mom's death. We never did… and never will…'_ Keiji grimaced as he watched his brother leave.

* * *

It's a hot day as Keiji and his family walk to their mother's grave. The walk is a nice exercise since the road is going uphill, and Keiji is already ahead of the others, not wanting to deal with his father's silly antics.

Their father, after hearing Yuzu's complain about the hot weather and the long walk, has started to walk upside down using his hands to inspire her.

"Just kick him away Karin-nee" Keiji remarked without looking at them. '_She really did it…_' he thought with a smirk as he heard their father's surprised yell.

Keiji continued to walk ahead. Looking up the hill, he could make out a girl in yellow dress. The girl is waving at them with her girly white hat.

'_The Kuchiki shinigami? Geez... She really is a good actress'_ he thought as he noticed the way the girl smiled and waved in a very feminine way that is so different when Keiji follows her around. '_She wasn't at Ichigo's room earlier… I didn't feel her reiatsu there and so I assumed that she'll do the shinigami stuff today instead of him… Why is she here though…?' _Keiji frowned.

He knew that Rukia sleeps in his brother's closet every night. He feels her reiatsu there. There is also a new reaitsu that joined them just the other night and Keiji is not familiar with what the reiatsu belongs to. He cannot determine if it is a human, a shinigami or a hollow.

"Isn't that your friend?" Yuzu asked Ichigo as they all noticed Rukia waving at them nonstop.

Ichigo shook his head immediately. "Of course not! I don't know anyone like that!" he exclaimed vehemently as Rukia continued to wave at them.

"Hmm… She's kinda familiar though…" Karin stated suspiciously, making Ichigo retract his words at once.

"Oh! Silly me! She's my classmate in junior high! It has been so long since I saw her that I forgot how she looks like!" Ichigo said while pretending to laugh. "Well, I better go greet her then! See you later!" he exclaimed as he ran towards Rukia and dragged her away from his siblings.

"Hehe…" Karin chuckled with a mischievous glint in her eyes when their brother left.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Yuzu asked, confused at Karin's sudden change in mood.

"It might be time to stop relying too much from Ichi-nii…" she answered, though Yuzu appears not to understand it still.

Keiji smiled knowingly at his sister's statement. "I do agree with what you said Karin-nee… Though you're wrong with your assumption…" Keiji remarked with a smirk.

"Huh? What's wrong about it?" Karin asked, curious.

"There is no way that she is Ichi-nii's girlfriend or even his crush" Keiji stated matter-of-factly.

He stopped walking and turned at his sisters' direction. Giving them his mischievous smirk, he then said "That's because Ichi-nii likes men…"

"Ehh?" Karin and Yuzu stopped walking, their eyes wide and their mouth open in shock. Their mind tried to digest what their younger brother just said.

At seeing their shocked faces, Keiji grinned and ran ahead immediately.

"KEIJI!" Karin called out.

* * *

An hour had passed but Ichigo has not come back yet.

_'You're always busy lately...'_ Keiji thought bitterly. _'You could at least look after your younger siblings once in a while...'_

He watches his sisters as they arrange the flowers they brought with them on their mother's grave. His sister Yuzu has started crying like she does every year.

_'So much for a happy birthday...'_ he thought when he suddenly felt a strong reiatsu of a hollow approaching them.

"Where's Dad?" he asked, trying to act normal as he heard the malicious voice of the hollow getting nearer.

He looked to his left and saw the hollow. It appears like a giant furry animal, more like a big hamster, except for its hands and feet, which have claws like a bird. A tentacle also protrudes from the top of its head, giving it an even more strange appearance.

"He said he needs to speak with the priest at the temple…" Yuzu replied, sniffing a little.

Karin felt the hollow too. Standing up from where she and Yuzu are sitting, she turned to the hollow's direction as well. She looked fearful and involuntarily walked backwards as she sensed the approaching monster.

"I think we need to move…" Keiji said, pulling Yuzu to her feet and pushing both his sisters to the temple's direction. "Go after Dad. I'll be behind you..."

"Keiji?" Yuzu asked as she stumbled on her feet.

They were a little too late to move however. The hollow jumped in front of them and attacked with its tentacle.

Keiji immediately jumped upwards and landed on top of a tombstone, several feet from the hollow. His sisters however were not fast enough to move out of harm's way. Karin got trapped on the ground by the hollow's claw-like foot while Yuzu got wrapped by the hollow's tentacle. Both fell unconscious from the attack and may not remember anything about their ordeal.

'_Now what…_' It is not Keiji's first time to fight a hollow. But at the moment, he is at a great disadvantage because he has to protect his sisters, too.

"Do anything funny and I'll tear them to pieces…" the hollow laughed cruelly as it walked towards Keiji.

"Why don't you let my sisters go and take me instead? I have greater reaitsu than them…" Keiji offered as he walked towards the hollow too, his face is emotionless.

The hollow stopped and eyed Keiji suspiciously. "You don't seem to be afraid of me… I commend you, little one…" the hollow observed, its eyes narrowing at Keiji.

"Well, thank you for that praise Mr. Hollow. But I know that I will gain nothing in fearing you... Not that you're someone to be feared anyway..." Keiji stopped walking too. He grinned suddenly as he looked at the hollow in the eyes. "Actually, you do remind me of Hamtaro, my pet hamster from when I was younger… Totally harmless, cute and cuddly just like you..." he added, trying to provoke the hollow to find a chance to get his sisters.

"Bastard! Are you forgetting your situation? Don't get cocky! I'm holding your sisters captive, idiot!" the hollow yelled angrily.

"I keep on telling people… I'M NOT AN IDIOT!" Keiji cried out, then suddenly, he flash-stepped in front of the hollow and fired a kido.

"Way of Destruction 31, Red Fire Cannon", Keiji muttered, extending his right hand forward with his palm facing the hollow. A large red ball of energy was immediately released from his palm and hit the hollow, pushing it backwards and away from Karin.

Another flash-step and the same kido aimed at the hollow's tentacle released Yuzu. Keiji immediately jumped to catch his sister.

The force of the two kido that he fired has thrown the hollow several feet away from them. This gave him the chance to flash-step towards Karin. He placed his sisters on his shoulders before moving towards the temple.

Before he could go further however, the hollow's hair extended and turned into several pointed spikes, one of which hit Keiji on his right side.

"Damn…" he muttered as he staggered but still did not dare stop. _'Come on Ichi-nii… We need you…'_

Panting, he stopped for a moment as the hollow hid its presence. Keiji focused, trying to sense where the next attack will come from.

'_Back…_' he thought as he felt the malicious reiatsu of the hollow. He flash-stepped again, barely dodging the attack as he landed on the ground. He immediately hid them behind a tombstone just as his brother in his shinigami form, Rukia, another shinigami and what appears to be his brother in his physical body arrived. Keiji was momentarily shocked at seeing his brother in shinigami form and in his physical body.

'_How did he do that? That's not my brother in his body… It was the other reaitsu that I sensed at his room last night…'_ he thought before deciding to finally move towards the temple as the others focus on the hollow.

'_I'll find out whose reiatsu that is later... For now, b__e careful Ichi-nii…'_

He was panting when he arrived at the temple. He laid his sisters on the temple stairs just as rain has started to pour. He touched his right side where the hollow's attack hit and realized that his shirt is already soaked with blood.

_'Damn…'_ he thought as he started to become dizzy. He sat immediately and tried to do a healing kido like what he saw from old Akihara. But it was not working. His wound continued to bleed. Giving up, he lay down on the temple stairs as well, just as his father arrived.

"Keiji…" his father called out worriedly. He wanted to answer back but he was too weak to do so. The last thing he saw was his father leaning down on him and his sisters.

* * *

'_Bright... Too bright'_ Keiji thought as he slowly moved his hand to cover his eyes. The movement caused him to grimace as he felt a terrible pain on his right side. He then remembered what happened earlier.

'_That hollow… _' He looked at his surroundings and found his brother Ichigo on a chair at his side, staring at the floor. '_Damn I think I'm in the hospital… I hate this place..._'

"I-Ichi-nii?" He tried to sit up but Ichigo stopped him.

"Don't move too much. You have a big gash on your side that was stitched. We're at the Karakura Hospital. It's nearer than our clinic…" Ichigo said, his eyes full of concern. "The doctor said that you have to stay here for a day or two… They want to do some tests on you. They said you lost a lot of blood and you might have a fractured rib…"

"That bad, huh…" Keiji said nonchalantly. "Where's Dad, Karin-nee and Yuzu-nee?"

"They went home... The two are exhausted and Yuzu keeps on crying... " Ichigo suddenly fell silent. "I'm sorry…" he muttered, his voice trembling a little and he kept his head down, staring at the floor again.

"Whatever for?" Keiji asked but he already knew the reason for his apology.

"I wasn't there to look after you… " Ichigo clenched both of his fists. "And... Years ago... On this very day, I took Mom away from you…" he muttered as he gritted his teeth.

Keiji has expected Ichigo to apologize for not protecting him. However, he did not expect him to apologize for their Mom's death. At first, he didn't know what to say to his brother. Thus, he remained silent.

"I'm really pathetic..." Ichigo continued. "It has been years since she died and I've just…" he added but wasn't able to continue, his voice was trembling as he controlled his emotions. He continued to stare at the floor, waiting for Keiji to say something.

Keiji sighed. "You do know that we don't blame you for her death, right?" Ichigo was silent. "I guess… we're just fortunate to have a mother who's willing enough to give up her life to protect her son…" he continued. "Don't wallow in sorrow Ichi-nii… You're just making her sad wherever she is. I know that she doesn't want to see you like this… So please stop making yourself miserable."

Both remained silent for a moment. Keiji turned his head away from Ichigo to look outside the window. _'It's still raining…What a terrible day it is…'_

"Just promise me though…" Keiji turned to look at his brother again. "No matter what happens, look after Yuzu-nee and Karin-nee. Don't worry about me. I can take care of my self."

Keiji turned his head and stared outside the window again. "Don't push them away. They worry about you so much... Especially Yuzu-nee… she often cries when worrying about you. Don't make them sadder... We all miss Mom so much."

"I promise…" Ichigo said as he smiled slowly. "Have I told you that you act too mature for your age?"

"Couple of times actually…" Keiji smiled back. "So I guess it's only right that you start calling me oniisan. Right ototo…"

"Bastard…" Ichigo mumbled indignantly. "Take a rest. I'll tell the nurse that you're already awake..." Ichigo said before leaving the room.

'_We are brothers Ichi-nii... We share a strong bond that started from our Mom and Dad…' _


	4. Chapter 3

**That Man**

Previous Chapter:

_"I promise…" Ichigo said as he smiled slowly. "Have I told you that you act too mature for your age?"_

_"Couple of times actually…" Keiji smiled back. "So I guess it's only right that you start calling me oniisan. Right ototo…?"_

_"Bastard…" Ichigo mumbled indignantly. "Take a rest. I'll tell the nurse that you're already awake..." Ichigo said before leaving the room._

_'__We are brothers Ichi-nii... We share a strong bond that started with our Mom and Dad…'_

* * *

The morning after the incident at their mother's grave, Keiji is still at the hospital, recuperating from the large wound he sustained from the hollow.

'_A minute before six…' _he thought as he glanced at the clock on the wall. Ichigo has just woken up in the chair beside his bed and is giving a big yawn while stretching his arms upwards.

'_I should probably enjoy these few seconds of peace and calm…'_ he told himself as he sensed an approaching disturber of his treasured moment.

"GOOOOD MOOOORNING KEIJI!" Isshin immediately shouted when he walked into Keiji's room, acting like nothing happened the day before or that his son is still recuperating. He pulled a large luggage bag behind him as Yuzu and Karin followed inside.

"Good morning, Yuzu-nee, Karin-nee…" Keiji greeted, not even bothering to give their father a glance.

"Good morning Kei-chan, Ichi-nii!" Yuzu greeted back.

"Morning…" Karin greeted as well.

"That's rude Kei-chan" their father pouted and then started crying like an overgrown kid as he covered his face with his hands. "You didn't even greet your loving father. And here I am… wanting nothing more than to spend the whole day with you!"

"Maaasaaaaki! Little Kei-chan is so mean… Just like Ichigo!" Isshin wailed as he took out a large picture of their mother from the luggage bag and hugged it with both arms.

Ichigo's right eye twitched at hearing their father's antics. "Hnn… What's with that bag?" Ichigo asked Karin as he tried to tune out their father's madness.

"You both don't wanna know…" Karin answered as she sat on Keiji's bed while Yuzu prepared the breakfast they brought with them on a nearby table.

At hearing Ichigo's query about his bag, their father's mood completely changed alarmingly. He stopped crying and gave them a radiant smile.

"Good of you to ask Ichigo! I see… you're not that totally mean to your Daddy…" Isshin said as he patted Ichigo's shoulder, making the latter's eye twitch again but did not say anything.

Isshin bent down to open his luggage bag, his back facing Keiji and Ichigo as the latter sat on the bed beside Karin. It is obvious that he does not want them to know the contents of the bag as he makes an effort to hide what he is searching. He hums while rummaging though, making both Ichigo and Keiji nervous. Anything that makes him in such a good mood is something harmful to Keiji's or Ichigo's reputation.

"Your cheerful mood is so disturbing…" Keiji commented warily. His father, as if not hearing anything continued his rummaging.

"Just wait Kei-chan. I know you're excited and all…" their father remarked before humming again.

"As you can see… I'm not…" Keiji said impassively.

Isshin appeared to have found what he's searching as he stood up and faced them. He clasped both hands on the object that he took from the bag so they cannot not see it.

"I brought some things to keep Kei-chan entertained! For starters, I brought your favorite wittle ducky!" their father exclaimed enthusiastically as he showed them a small, yellow rubber duck and moved it around with his hand like it was flying or swimming. "Quack! Quack! Quack! Quack!"

Keiji and Ichigo groaned. "Karin…" Ichigo started as he turned to their sister but Karin cut him off immediately.

"I tried to stop him! I really did!" Karin protested.

"Oh, oh!" Isshin rummaged his bag excitedly. "I also brought your choo-choo train! And your toy car, too! And a lot more!" he added as he dumped everything on the edge of Keiji's bed.

Keiji had to sit up to see what their father brought him. A rubber duck, toy train, remote control car, robot, remote control plane, a couple of books and... a doll?

"What's that doll doing here? I'm a hundred percent sure, that is not mine!" Keiji freaked out as he saw the doll in white dress with blue eyes and straight blond hair.

"Of course it's not yours! Idiot!" their father remarked. "Your sister Yuzu has kindly lent it to you though… Such a loving sister you have their…" he added, his voice is full of pride.

"Yuzu-nee…" Keiji groaned as he brought his right hand over his face while both Ichigo and Karin tried not to laugh at his expense.

Yuzu smiled apologetically. "Dad asked for suggestions to keep you from getting bored. So I told him you can have a tea party. But a tea party is better if there are many participants so I told him he can bring Hime-chan."

"You should be happy, you ungrateful son!" Isshin remarked as he folded both arms in front of him, as if trying to be an adult at the moment. "I even brought Yuzu's story books with me. I'll read them to you!"

Their father became overly excited again as he picked a book from the bed. "How about I start with Cinderella!" he then pulled the chair near Keiji's bed, making himself comfortable before he started to read out loud.

Keiji groaned as he lay down and pulled a pillow over his face.

"Do that later Dad. Breakfast is ready. I just made some sandwiches, bacon and eggs…" Yuzu said as she brought a chicken sandwich and a small pack of fresh milk to Keiji.

Their breakfast was uneventful, except for a couple of times when their father had to dramatically tell Keiji of his plans for their day together.

When Ichigo, Yuzu and Karin had to leave for school though, Keiji did plead them not to go.

"Don't be so mean Ichi-nii!" Keiji cried out. "I'll do anything! Just don't leave me with that man!" Keiji pulled on the hem of his brother's shirt to prevent him from leaving.

"I'm so happy Kei-chan! It has been three or four years since the last time we had a father-and-son bonding time! Do you remember those times Kei-chan?" their father asked dreamily as if not hearing Keiji begging Ichigo not to leave.

"Thank god. I don't remember those times or else I'll be having nightmares…" Keiji remarked in relief as Ichigo yanked his shirt off his hands to free himself and followed Yuzu and Karin to the door.

"You won't get bored with what I planned!" Isshin added as he picked the book from the bed and start to read 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs', which in Keiji's opinion is worse than 'Cinderella'.

"Serves you right…See you after school, Kei-chan!" Ichigo said as he and Karin grinned.

"Better you than me…" Karin remarked as she closed the door behind her.

"Bastards…"

Listening to stories about princesses is one thing but seeing and hearing it being acted by a grown man while reading from a story book is another. The nurse and the doctor who checked on him two hours after his brother and sisters left made their work routine fast. They obviously did not want to be in the same room with his father. Thankfully, the medicine that the nurse gave him made him sleepy. He then tuned out his father's voice and succumbed to sleep.

* * *

Keiji woke up with a start. _'What's this ominous feeling…'_ he thought. He grimaced as he placed a hand over his chest, feeling the fast beating of his heart.

He checked the time at the clock on the wall. "Three-ten…" he mumbled sleepily. _'Karin-nee and Yuzu-nee are on their way home from school. I wonder if they'll visit me again. Probably not…'_ He glanced at the chair beside his bed. '_It looks like Dad is not here, too…'_

'_I have this terrible feeling that something bad will happen…'_ Keiji thought. _'I hope they're fine…'_

He sighed and then stared outside the window, unable to push the anxiety he is feeling. The door to his room then opened. A doctor and a nurse walked in to check on him.

"Oh, I'm glad you're awake, Kurosaki-kun…" the doctor greeted professionally as he adjusted his glasses and read Keiji's record, which was handed over by his assistant nurse. He is the same doctor who checked on him that morning. He appeared to be relieved that the senior Kurosaki is not with Keiji.

"I speak with you're father earlier and told him that you will be released tomorrow. All the test results from last night and this morning showed that there is no serious harm done from your accident except for a bruised rib. Take it easy for about three to four weeks to completely heal. Well, your father will know what to do then… He's a good doctor, too" the doctor said with a smile. "And oh… I almost forgot. He said that your brother will be here later to keep you company…"

"Thank you Doctor …" Keiji said before the doctor and nurse left.

* * *

"A match? Between you and me?" Ichigo asked the black-haired, bespectacled teenager in front of him. His name is Uryu Ishida, a quincy.

A quincy is a spiritually aware human with special ability. In a sense, they are like shinigami since they fight hollows too using their special ability. But their difference lies in the way they get rid of their common enemy. A quincy destroys a hollow with an arrow fired from a bow both made from spiritual power. A shinigami on the other hand, does not destroy a hollow, instead he cleanses it from the sins it committed as a hollow.

"That's right…" Uryu answered, both glaring at each other.

"That's stupid. I don't really know why you hate shinigami so much. But it has nothing to do with me…" Ichigo scoffed as he turned away from Uryu.

Uryu's eyes narrowed before he adjusted his glasses and regarded Ichigo mockingly.

"Oh, I get it… You just received that shinigami power from Rukia Kuchiki, right? Without her permission, you have no right to use it… You are after all, just as shinigami substitute…" Uryu sneered as his eyes narrowed on Ichigo.

Not one to back away when his pride is being trampled, Ichigo faced Uryu. He looked at him for a moment before saying, "Fine… I'll fight you if that's what you want…" Ichigo opened his bag and took out a lion stuffed toy.

The toy talked as soon as Ichigo pulled it out from his bag. "Damn it Ichigo! You don't have any right to put me inside your bag! Only nee-san can do that! Speaking of nee-san… Where is nee – sum, hmmm…"

The toy continued to create noises which are muffled when Ichigo pushed his hand inside its mouth. "We're switching. Take care of my body for now, Kon…" Ichigo ordered before his hand found a green candy inside the stuffed toy's body.

He took the candy, rubbed it against his shirt before he placed it in his mouth and swallowed it. He swayed for a second before his shinigami form was released and then Kon, the soul inside the stuffed toy, took control of his physical body.

"Move out of the way Kon. Watch me beat this guy…" Ichigo smirked cockily as Kon moved behind Ichigo.

"So, go ahead and tell me the rules of this match…" Ichigo told Uryu, his right hand gripped his large sword tightly.

Uryu pushed a hand inside his shirt's pocket and took out what looked like a flat, rounded stone. "Let's use this" he said, showing the object to Ichigo.

The latter looked at the object with puzzled expression before asking the obvious. "What's that?"

"It's anti-hollow bait. If you break this thing and scatter it around, hollows will soon appear" Uryu explained.

Ichigo tensed from what he said. "What the – "

But Uryu cut him off immediately. "In the next twenty four hours, the one who beats most hollows will win the match… It's a simple rule, right?" Uryu stated with an arrogant smile.

"That's stupid!" Ichigo was beside himself. "Do you want to put the lives of people in danger just for this match?"

"Shut up!" Uryu retorted as Ichigo gritted his teeth in agitation. "You don't have to worry about the people… because I'm going to destroy every hollow that will appear…" he stated with confidence as he crushed the anti-hollow object into dust with his bare hand.

Just in mere seconds, dozens of hollows appeared in the sky.

Ichigo was momentarily shocked. The situation sunk in his mind after a few seconds as he suddenly pushed Uryu on the ground in anger. "Undo what you did! Send those hollows back!"

"I can't… _The die has been cast_, as they say…" Uryu calmly stated as he pushed Ichigo and stood up. "Shouldn't you be doing something else instead of attacking me? Hollows go after humans with high reiatsu after all…"

Ichigo was overcome by dread as he realized what Ishida was implying. "Bastard…" he muttered before leaving Uryu. "Yuzu, Karin, Keiji…"

"So he hasn't realized yet… His family is not the only ones with high reiatsu…" Uryu said, voicing out his thoughts to no one. _'His friends, too…'_

* * *

'_Dozens of hollows just appeared… Ichi-nii, what's happening there…?'_ Keiji gazed outside the window worriedly.

He pushed himself to sit up straight so he can see better outside the window. He gasped at what he saw. Hollows after hollows appear in the sky.

"Shit…" he muttered as he swung his feet off the bed and tried to get up. He grimaced then when muscles around his wound clenched from the movement. He breathed deeply as he calmed his nerves. _'One step at a time…'_ he told his self.

But before he could even move a step, the door opened and a doctor came in. It was a different doctor from earlier though he also wears glasses like the other. Keiji looked in his eyes and noticed a smart and cold personality reflected from them. But the most notable in his appearance is his white hair.

"Where do you think you're going, Kurosaki-kun?" he asked coolly, his hands are pushed inside the pocket of his white coat as he walked to Keiji.

"Going out for a walk? Haha…" he answered lamely as he noticed the high reiatsu of the man as well. _'Not a man to trifle with…'_ he thought.

"You won't be able to do anything in your condition. The fact that you are injured by a single hollow yesterday tells everything of your current ability…" the doctor stated as he stopped in front of Keiji.

Somehow, Keiji was not surprised that the doctor knew what really happened. He sighed before he lay down in bed again.

"Don't worry" the doctor said as he moved closer to Keiji's bed. "Have faith in your brother. I know they will get out of this situation alive…"he added as he looked outside the window.

"Take a rest Kurosaki and stop thinking of ways to get your self into trouble again. A nurse will come here later to change your wound dressing…" the doctor added as he turned to leave.

"But my family…" Keiji started to protest.

"I told you…" the doctor stopped in his tracks, turning slightly towards Keiji as he talked. "They will be fine. If there is something that you should learn for now, it's patience. Both your father and brother seemed to not have it… I am sure your father does not have it…" he added as he walked to the door.

"Excuse me, Doctor?" Keiji called out as the latter is already at the door. "May I have your name, sir?" he asked politely as he did not notice any nameplate on the doctor's coat.

"Ryuken Ishida…" he replied before he closed the door behind him.

'_Ryuken Ishida, huh? You have a very interesting type of reiatsu… One of human but a little different, not just in its level but also in quality…'_ Keiji thought as his gaze moved outside the window. _'What do you know about my father though? If you knew about my ability, does this mean that Dad also knew about it…? That man…'_

* * *

Hours passed since the hollow foray.

Keiji stayed at the hospital as Doctor Ishida told him. From that time onwards, he felt several reiatsu spikes from Ichigo and from other people. He was certain that those are Ichigo's friends. One of those reiatsu's however, caught his attention well. It was a reiatsu similar with the doctor.

'_I wonder if they're related…Do they belong to same unique race?'_ he thought as he looked outside the window before glancing at the clock. _'Seven-fifteen… I wonder how Ichi-nii is doing…_'

He then frowned as he remembered the reiatsu of the hollow that last appeared. _'It was definitely a hollow but has a far greater reiatsu than a normal hollow… It was far stronger than the one I fought yesterday…What could that be? I remember Akihara-san mentioned something about hollow levels in-passing… Could that hollow be on a different level?' _he sighed.

'_Damn… I barely know anything... I'm completely useless…'_ Keiji thought miserably as he turned on his other side.

'_Yes you are…'_ his dragon zanpaktou agreed jeeringly, which only made him feel worse.

He heard his zanpaktou sighed before speaking again. _'You already said it your self, you are currently useless. If you went outside and attempt to protect them, you'll just get in your brother's way…'_ his zanpaktou told him.

'_I know… I can't help but worry about my sisters though…'_ he said as he turned on his other side again.

'_Stop tossing and turning already… You'll open up that wound…'_ the dragon scolded him.

'_Fine…'_ he grumbled before his eyes fell on the rubber duck that his father brought with him that morning. It was sitting on the chair beside his bed which is easy enough for him to reach.

"Why the hell did he leave this thing here?" he muttered to himself as he reached out to take it.

He raised the toy towards the light, scrutinizing its every angle just as the door opened and the nurse in duty walked in.

"I need to change your wound dressing Kurosaki-kun…" she politely said.

"Alright…" he said, his boredom is clear in his voice.

Keiji and the nurse were silent for a moment as she cleaned his wound. When she was almost through, she noticed the rubber duck on Keiji's hand.

"You have a wonderful father…" she said softly.

Keiji thought she was being sarcastic and was not too polite in his reply. "Yeah right…"

The nurse just smiled at him. "Well, it's true…" she continued just as Keiji looked at her.

He then smiled awkwardly when he noticed her sincerity.

"I was told that your brother will arrive later… Rest for now" she said before leaving.

When the door closed behind the nurse, Keiji continued to scrutinize the rubber duck.

"I do have fond memories of this thing…" he muttered as he remembered one vague memory from when he was so much younger.

**Flashback**

"_Kei-chan! It's bath time!" Isshin called out for his four-year-old son._

"_Don't want to!" little Keiji shouted back from under his bed._

"_Come on, Kei-chan! If you do, wittle ducky will join you in your bath!" Isshin said in a singsong as he bent down to show the rubber duck to Keiji for the first time._

_A little curious, Keiji emerged from under his bed and looked at the toy curiously. _

_"It doesn't look interesting…" he remarked as his father placed the toy in his hands. "What does it do?"_

"_Well… I don't know. You have to find out yourself…" his father said as he gazed at his youngest son lovingly. "So, that means bath time!"_

"_Fine…" Keiji muttered as he allowed his father to carry him in his arms while he holds his new toy tightly._

**End of Flashback**

'_It is not easy to raise four children alone. But somehow, Dad is doing it fine. She is right… We have a wonderful father…'_


	5. Chapter 4

**A Brother's Fears**

Previous Chapter

'_It is not easy to raise four children alone. But somehow, Dad is doing it fine. She is right… We have a wonderful father…'_

* * *

Ichigo sighed in relief at seeing his brother sleeping. Keiji was released from the hospital that morning. He is recuperating well, as Isshin said, and might be completely healed in a week or two, which is a much shorter time than what the doctors at the hospital expect.

He sighed again. He could not push away the feeling of guilt since he was not able to look after his brother the night before. Keiji was alone in the hospital with only the nurses and doctors checking on him once in every four to six hours.

Ichigo's fight with the large hollow that Rukia called menos grande had left him extremely exhausted. He fell unconscious moments after the hollow retreated and it was already morning when he woke up. Rukia told him that she and Ishida had to drag his sorry ass home.

His match with the quincy Ishida had gone awry. It seemed that even Ishida did not expect that many hollows to be lured by his anti-hollow bait. The only good thing that came out of it is that they had become friends or, in Ichigo's observation, the quincy now regarded him as different from the shinigamis that he hated. Ishida even joined them during lunch, though his friends' reception of him is not too accepting. But still, it is a start of a new friendship.

Now, back to his brother, he apologized earlier for not being able to go to the hospital. Keiji smiled and said that he understands. Everyone has things to do, he told him, and even joked that it was a good thing he did not keep him company since the pretty nurses kept on visiting him instead.

Just remembering his words made Ichigo smile. He knows even at the moment, that Keiji will be a heart breaker someday. He doesn't look anything like him. Even his friends Mizuiro and Keigo would often joke about it, telling him that Keiji is lucky that he didn't have Ichigo's scary face. Keiji could only be described as good-looking. People who had known their mother would say that he looks very much like Masaki except for his hair and eyes, which are similar to their father. Of course, Keiji is very much aware of those facts and would jokingly gloat at him at times.

Ichigo left his brother's room quietly, closing the door behind him. He admitted to himself, he finds his situation difficult. He had to juggle his responsibilities at home, school and being a shinigami better if he does not want a repeat of what happened.

He sighed as he slowly walked to his own room.

When he opened his door, he heard a muffled sound coming from inside.

Ichigo immediately closed the door behind him so his family, particularly their father, will not hear the strange sound. He moved to open his closet, thinking that the sounds might be coming from Rukia, only to find her things neatly folded inside.

He still can hear the sound. He realized after a moment that it is coming from under his study table.

Cautiously, he walked to his table and then bent down to check what's causing the sound.

"Kon?" he exclaimed at seeing the lion stuffed toy, tied and gagged under the table.

Ichigo immediately knelt to untie him and then removed the adhesive tape that covered its mouth.

After being freed, he instantly cried loudly.

Ichigo could not decide whether to pity him or rip his mouth to pieces for crying loudly.

"Nee-san… nee-san…" he continued his pathetic cries. "Nee-san left me…" he cried even harder.

Ichigo just frowned. He sympathized a little with the annoying stuffed toy and stopped himself from snapping at him.

"What did she tell you before leaving?" he asked patiently.

Through loud sobs, Kon told him, "S-she told me not to follow her… a-and g-gave me this…" He then handed over a letter that Ichigo immediately took.

He stood up as he read the short letter

_Thank you for everything…_

_Rukia _

'_What's with the suddenness…'_ he thought before he grabbed Kon, the latter was surprised and stopped from crying immediately.

"Do you know something about this?" Ichigo asked, pushing the letter in front of Kon's face.

"They're after her…" Kon started crying again. "The shinigamis from Soul Society are after her… That's why she ran away. She didn't want us getting involved…"

Ichigo cursed under his breath. He crumpled the letter and threw it in his garbage bin.

He then shoved his hand inside Kon's mouth to get the soul candy.

"Stay here Kon… I'll go after her…" Ichigo said before leaving through his window.

* * *

Two figures in shinigami clothes stood from the rooftop of a building, their eyes following a figure running down the street.

"The back similarity is 113! Nerve-integrate, 88.5 percent. Found you Rukia Kuchiki…" one of the two shinigami said. He wears a visor-like gadget that works like x-ray equipment, which he pushed up his head as he stared at Rukia. He has a long spiky red hair that is pulled back and tied in a ponytail. The most distinguishing trait in his appearance apart from his hair is the tribal tattoo in his forehead.

"It seems the report is true… She is in a gigai…" he continued as he glanced at his companion.

The other shinigami wears a white sleeveless haori over his shinigami clothes with a kanji for five at his back. He also has a white scarf on his neck and white headpieces that keep his hair away from his face. "Let's go Renji…" he said, his voice is devoid of any emotion.

Both shinigami jumped from their location, one landed in front of Rukia.

"It's been a while Rukia… It looks like you've been enjoying this world for too long…" the redhead smirked before he swung his zanpaktou at Rukia's side.

Rukia jumped away from him in reflex. "Renji… Renji Abarai" she said almost in disbelief.

"You've gone soft… You should have felt us watching you for too long… even if you are in that gigai" Renji said as he walked a few steps towards Rukia but stopped when he noticed her tensed, as if about to flee. "Call the human who stole your power…" he demanded, his eyes narrowed as he lay the back of his zanpaktou on his shoulder.

Fear is written all over Rukia's face. Fear for Ichigo's life.

"What are you talking about? Does it automatically mean that my powers are stolen if I wear this gigai?" Rukia said, forcing herself to calm down.

"Don't try to deny the fact that you could not go back to Soul Society because you let a human stole your powers!" Renji exclaimed in anger.

Rukia looked at him in surprised at his outburst. But that emotion was immediately replaced by fear as she realized that she cannot do anything to protect Ichigo from Renji.

Renji became even angrier as he stared at Rukia. "Don't look at me with that human expression!"

"Rukia… You're a Kuchiki. You are trained and educated not to show human-like expressions… Don't you agree?" The other shinigami appeared behind her.

If Rukia was surprised at seeing Renji, it was nothing at what she felt at that moment when the other shinigami appeared.

"B-Byakuya nii-sama?" she exclaimed, turning sharply behind her to look at the man.

"Rukia…" the man started but was cut off when Renji suddenly swung his zanpaktou at Rukia.

"Giving your power to a human is a serious crime. We're appointed to get you back and kill the human who stole your power" he stated as he moved into a fighting stance. "Now, call that human!"

Rukia readied herself from another of Renji's attack when she saw the latter raised his zanpaktou. But it never came down as a kido-similar attack was fired between them.

"What the - " Renji jumped backwards and landed a few feet away from her. He then stared at the attacker.

"A man with a weapon attacking an unarmed woman? That's not a very pleasant scene to see…" the person said. Rukia then realized that it was Ishida.

"Who the hell are you?" Renji asked through gritted teeth.

"Just a friend from her class…" Ishida answered as he adjusted his glasses, pushing it with two fingers as he walked towards Rukia.

"Why are you here Uryuu?" Rukia asked and it was clear in her voice that she doesn't like anyone else getting involved in her trouble.

"I felt the reaitsu of shinigamis, so I came to investigate…" he answered calmly.

"I'm asking you, damn it! Who the hell are you?" Renji asked rudely, pointing his zanpaktou at Uryuu.

"Aren't you listening shinigami? I told you already... I'm just a friend from her class… " he replied before adding, "Uryuu, Uryuu Ishida… And I hate shinigamis..."

Renji's eyes narrowed on Uryuu before a smirk formed on his lips. "Whatever…" he exclaimed as he suddenly disappeared from Uryuu's line of vision then appeared in front of him before he swung his zanpaktou diagonally to cut down his new opponent.

Uryuu was lucky enough to dodge Renji's attack as he jumped backwards. He panted slightly. He gets tired fast as his reiatsu is still low from fighting hollows the day before and his injuries are not completely healed.

He readied his bow and arrow and was about to fire an arrow towards Renji when the latter appeared again and easily cut him on his chest. The wound is not deep, Uryuu realized but at his current state, it was enough to make him fall on the ground. His blood started to trickle from the wound.

"Uryuu!" Rukia cried out. She was about to run at his aide when Renji appeared before him.

"Hah! That's easy! " Renji smirked triumphantly. "Now, remember this name... Renji Abarai. It's the name of the man who'll kill you!" he calmly stated as he walked towards him, zanpaktou raised to finish him off. He then brought down his sword and was in mid swing when he felt an unfamiliar presence behind him. He suddenly jumped away from Uryuu just as a sword hit the ground where he stood just a mere second ago. He turned to look at the new comer.

"What the hell! Now, who the fuck are you?" Renji demanded angrily, having been interrupted for the second time.

"Ichigo Kurosaki… Remember my name... I'll be the one to defeat you!" Ichigo exclaimed, pointing his large sword at Renji.

The other stared at him, sizing him up.

Rukia then realized that Renji gradually comprehends the situation. _'Idiot… why did you follow me…'_ she thought.

"Are you the one who stole Rukia's power?" he asked furiously.

"So what if I am…" Ichigo answered back.

"You're dead idiot!" Renji exclaimed as he appeared in front of Ichigo, attacking him like he did to Uryuu.

Ichigo barely blocked his attack when Renji followed with another attack.

"Is that huge sword only for decoration?" Renji arrogantly asked as he keeps on attacking Ichigo.

"Damn!" Ichigo yelled as he delivered his counter attack, only for the latter to jump high, flipping mid-air and slashed at Ichigo's right shoulder.

"Do you really think you can cut me with that skill, noob!" he sneered at Ichigo. "You're stupid enough as it is… Coming here and trying to save Rukia as if you can change anything…" he continued as he rested the back of his zanpaktou blade on his shoulder. "You will die tonight and Rukia will go back to Soul Society and get executed…"

In a second, Ichigo moved in front of him and slashed at his chest.

"You keep on yapping and yapping… It's getting annoying…" Ichigo yelled at Renji, the latter looked shocked from the attack.

The other shinigami then intervened. "Renji… Don't be too hasty. You should know that this man was able to make a menos grande retreat into Hueco Mundo yesterday. He managed to wound the hollow…"

"Really?" Renji asked sarcastically before laughing hard. "Well… Let's put an end to this then Ichigo Kurosaki…" he yelled as he moved to a fighting stance. He moved his zanpaktou in front, just below his chest. Its blade runs diagonally downwards with its tip pointing to the ground and its dull side facing him. He then placed his left hand on top of the blade near its hilt as he regarded Ichigo.

"Let me ask you noob… Do you know the name of your zanpaktou?"

Ichigo look puzzled for a moment before he answered. "I don't go around naming swords…"

His comment earned him another smirk from the redhead. "Very well then… Let me show you how to properly wield a zanpaktou" Renji shouted as his reiatsu spiked. "Roar, Zabimaru!"

Ichigo's eyes widen as he suddenly felt pain on his left shoulder and he barely heard Rukia called his name.

* * *

Keiji woke up with a start. Even before he opened his eyes, he knew that his brother is in trouble again. Ichigo's reiatsu just dropped dramatically.

He carefully got up of bed and looked for his skateboard.

'_Who said I need weeks to heal… Jeez…'_ he thought as he felt better than he had in days. There is still a dull pain in his wound but it's not as bad as it was the day before.

'_Now brother, what trouble did you get yourself this time?'_ he grimaced as he felt his heart beats faster.

He changed into a pair of pants and shirt before he grabbed his skateboard and followed his brother's weak reiatsu.

'_It seems like someone just helped him…'_ he thought as he felt Ichigo's reiatsu moving fast from its current location. _'He shouldn't be able to move in his condition. Who could have helped him?'_

It took him about twenty minutes to follow Ichigo's reiatsu. And when he finally did, he found himself standing outside the Urahara shop, which is a small candy store owned by his father's friend, Kisuke Urahara. The store looks old and is part of a two-story house.

'_Tsk… Of all souls to help Ichi-nii, why does it have to be him…'_ he thought before the shop's door opened and Urahara came out. The man is in his usual white-green striped bucket hat, black haori over a shirt and pants, and a pair of wooden sandals. He is carrying a foldable fan that he immediately opened upon seeing Keiji.

"What a surprise this is! We have a visitor!" Urahara exclaimed as he covered half his lower face with the fan, though it was clear that he knew Keiji is coming.

"Cut the crap Urahara…" Keiji said, panting slightly. "Where is my brother?"

"Straight to the point as expected…" Urahara remarked, becoming a little serious though his eyes still shined with amusement. "Follow me, Keiji-kun…"

'_So… he knew about me as well… Father is really too talkative…'_ he thought, as he noticed Urahara used his first name.

Keiji entered the shop. Like how it looks outside, the inside is mostly traditional Japanese in design.

Urahara stopped in front of a room and pushed the sliding door. The room is bare; holding only a futon at the far end corner where Keiji knew Ichigo is recuperating. The older man held the sliding door and gestured Keiji to enter.

Keiji walked inside and stopped a few steps away from Ichigo as he looked at the occupant… or rather occupants of the bed.

Ichigo is in the futon and lying on top of him is a large man in dark glasses and dreadlocks that Keiji recognized as one of Urahara's employees.

Turning to the older man's direction, he gave Urahara an amused look. "That's a strange way of healing…" a smirk slowly formed on his lips despite the situation. "If Ichigo isn't injured seriously, I would have taken a picture of this… It's black-mail material…"

Urahara himself smiled from the door but his eyes are studying Keiji's every movement.

_'It seems that what your father said is true… You are a very interesting kid… '_ his eyes narrowing a little at Keiji as the boy squat near the futon. _'__But I don't sense strong reiatsu from you…_ Either you don't have it… or you can totally control it, which I think is the latter…' 

"They've come for her then?" Keiji asked, looking at Urahara. Urahara then walked inside the room, closing the door behind him. He squat beside Keiji, looking at him with an amused look.

"I wonder… When have you known about your brother's activities?" Urahara asked, not taking his eyes off Keiji.

Keiji frowned a bit, feeling the penetrating gaze of the older man on him. "Since the start… I saw you when you helped the Kuchicki shinigami that night my brother received his shinigami power… I cannot be sensed if I wanted to…" he added.

"You really are a very interesting boy…" Urahara remarked.

"Who told you about me though? My father?" Keiji asked, giving him a glare, only for the older man to smile wider in amusement. "That man talks too much…" he then glared harder at Urahara when the latter seemed like amused of the situation. "I seem to amuse you a lot…"

"That you do… Tell me though… Since when have you known about the shinigami? And what do you know about your father?"

"I can see shinigami as long as I can remember. As for my father… I followed him a couple of times when he visited you here. I know that he's hiding something from us about his past…" Keiji grimaced as his wound started to throb. "That's his right I guess… It's his decision if he wants us to know about it or not… Now that I've answered your question, could you please tell me of your plans about my brother…?"

Urahara sighed. "That's up to your brother if he wants to go after Rukia Kuchiki… If so, then he'll have my full support. I will train him to restore his shinigami power and find a way to send him to Soul Society."

Keiji frowned after hearing his answer. "I know for a fact that you're a renegade shinigami… and that you're hiding in the living world because of your involvement in a crime in Soul Society years ago…" he then glared at Urahara. "Now, tell me honestly… What good will this situation brings you, a shinigami-in-hiding? Surely, you don't want to draw attention to yourself by helping a substitute shinigami free someone from Soul Society prison…"

Urahara tensed slightly, his eyes are shadowed by his hat as he seemed to weigh what he is about to tell Keiji. He then looked at Keiji and chuckled lightly. "You really are a frighteningly perceptive kid… Well, it's true that we're hiding from Soul Society… and that… I have an ulterior motive in helping your brother. But I don't honestly mean him any harm…"

"Our father seems to trust you though… So that's enough for me…" Keiji said in resignation. "I just hate the way you take advantage of my brother's trust…"

"I know… I don't like that either…" Urahara said as he glanced at the teen in the futon. Keiji thought it was just his imagination but he saw a flicker of sadness in the older man's face when he looked at his brother.

"But even if your brother knew about my reason in helping him, I don't think he'll stop going after Rukia himself. The best option we all have then is for him to gain back his shinigami powers and prepare him for his incoming conquest…" Urahara pointed out.

"I know… Thank you then…" Keiji muttered making Urahara smile.

"I should be the one saying that…" Urahara replied.

Both were silent for a moment as they watched the man in dreadlocks heal Ichigo.

"Let me heal that wound…" Urahara offered as he noticed Keiji's grimace earlier.

Keiji looked surprised for a moment. "Well, thank you again I guess... " he stated as Urahara placed his palm over Keiji's wound. A green light emitted from Urahara's hand and Keiji felt a comforting warmth on his wound.

"A high-level healing kido?" he asked curiously. "I only know the basic one…" he mumbled as he watched Urahara and memorized the latter's every movement so he can copy the new kido later.

"Want to copy my kido?" Urahara asked with a smirk as he noticed Keiji focused on him.

"Well… I can't really help myself if I see something new to me… I must learn about it…" Keiji said sheepishly as he scratched his head in embarrassment.

Urahara chuckled. "Well, we're the same in that way I guess… All done! You're as good as new!" he exclaimed.

Keiji checked his wound, pressing on the muscles around it to see that it is fully healed. "Wow! That kido is really something! Thanks!" he exclaimed in happiness.

"Keiji-kun… While I train your brother… I'm thinking… Seeing that you have high reiatsu as well…" Urahara started but was immediately cut off by Keiji.

"My answer is no… Thanks but no… It's true that I do need help to get hold of my ability. But with the current situation, you need to focus on my brother… And one more thing… Do you think my brother will allow me to train to be a shinigami? He'll think it too dangerous for someone my age… I might need your help someday. But not now… Or at least not in his presence…"

Urahara smiled. "I understand…"

Keiji then stood up and walked closer to the futon. "You made me worry again... Get well soon Ichi-nii…" he mumbled before turning to Urahara. "Urahara-san, I need to go home..."

"Okie-dokie!" Urahara exclaimed, going back to his jovial self as he showed Keiji to the door.

"Thank you for everything, Urahara-san…" Keiji bowed but instead of leaving, he regarded the older man as if he wanted to say something. A smirk slowly formed on his lips. "I think I like you for my brother…" he stated before leaving a stunned Urahara whose face turned red.

Keiji rode his skateboard away from the shop, not looking back as he knew that his brother will be okay.

'_Am I that easy to read?'_ Urahara asked himself as he watched the boy leaving. He sighed with a smile on his face. '_You would have been a great student…'_ he thought as he felt a presence beside him. Looking down, he noticed a black cat standing near his feet.

"He likes you for his brother, huh?" the cat spoke, mirth is clear in its voice. "Isshin's kids sure are interesting…" the cat remarked.

"That they do…"

* * *

"It's him…" a man said as he and another man watch Keiji while standing in mid-air. The man is wearing a shinigami uniform under a white haori and a large set of red prayer beads is around his neck. The back of the haori, which carries an emblem, shows the man's affiliation as a shinigami. The emblem has four four-pointed stars enclosed in a diamond. This man has a bald head, thick eyebrows and long bushy beard.

"Well… That's easy. I thought it will at least take as a few hours to find him and speak with him alone" his companion remarked. He too is wearing the same white haori with the same emblem though he doesn't wear the standard shinigami uniform underneath. Instead, he only had a pair of black pants to match the coat, leaving his chest exposed. His hair is too noticeable as he wears an exaggerated regent hairstyle with his hair sticking about a foot in front. "Let's go…" he mumbled.

Both disappeared just as Keiji suddenly stopped in his tracks.

'_What the hell is this?_' Keiji thought as darkness surrounded him. He felt like floating in air when suddenly a pair of hands grabbed both his shoulders.


	6. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: **

**I'm not really sure if those are stars or flowers in the Squad Zero's emblem. I just assumed that they're stars from what I remember in manga. My bad if they're not. I've also seen the Soul King's palace in manga and I don't really like it so expect something different here. **

**In this story, when Sasuke died, he was reborn as Keiji Kurosaki and grew up in a loving family. At this point, he cannot remember his past life as an avenger so Keiji's attitude is different from Sasuke. Things might change though later on. **

**I do hope you enjoy this chapter. Please leave a review! **

**Thanks a lot!**

* * *

Traveling to Fantasy Land

Previous Chapter

'_What the hell is this?' Keiji thought as darkness surrounded him. He felt like floating in air when suddenly a pair of hands grabbed both his shoulders._

* * *

His body tried to move away from his captor in reflex, only to realize that he is bound by kido as well.

'_A high-level bakudo? Damn…Just my luck…_'

He tried to get away again, but to no avail. He can't even move his fingers.

"Please don't try to move, Young Master Keiji… This is a high-level bakudo. Fighting it will put strain on your soul…" the man behind him said.

'_To hell with it!_' Keiji exclaimed inwardly.

He then released large amounts of reiatsu that he usually compress in his soul, gradually dissolving the bakudo.

Noticing the boost in Keiji's reiatsu, the man stepped away from him, giving Keiji the chance to turn around and deliver a kick to his face. He did everything in instinct since he is still in the middle of darkness and his opponent is good at masking his reiatsu.

'_Ouch! Damn it! What is this man made of? Steel?_' he cursed after his foot made contact with his opponent. Limping backwards, he then cast a simple kido that gave him light.

"Oh? You know kido?" another man said. "You're quite talented…"

Keiji glanced at the man and watched him briefly as he made his way towards his companion. He then turned his attention back to his first opponent.

The man is large, probably almost seven feet in height and rather bulky, with a bald head, thick brows and bushy beard. He wears the standard shinigami uniform underneath a white haori, and around his neck is a large set of red prayer beads. He doesn't seem injured from where Keiji kicked him. Instead, he smiles benignly at him, showing a good straight set of teeth.

The other man, who is tall as well but rather thin, is wearing the same haori, albeit shorter as it only reached his waist. He doesn't wear any shirt underneath the coat as well, matching it only with a pair of pants and leaving his chest exposed. The most noticeable in his appearance though, is his hair that he wears in an exaggerated regent hairstyle.

"Freeing yourself from the bakudo is one thing. But kicking Osho-san with your leg still intact afterwards is another…" the man with a ridiculous hairstyle said.

"He is not even injured…" Keiji stated matter-of-factly, narrowing his eyes on both men as he stood in a fighting stance. '_These two are clearly out of my league..._' he thought and gritted his teeth in acknowledgement of the gap in their abilities.

"That is enough Tenjiro…" the bald man named Osho warned.

"I was merely giving him a compliment, Osho-san..." Tenjiro replied with a smirk, not taking his eyes off Keiji.

Keiji made quick glances in all directions, searching for a way out. But he cannot find anything. There is simply nothing around them. He even noticed that they are not standing on a solid ground. They are like floating mid-air, only that you cannot see the ground below.

'_A void… We are in a dimensional void…_' Keiji thought with dread that he masked with an impassive façade.

Osho seemed to notice his apprehension from the flaring of his reiatsu though. "We mean no harm, Young Master Keiji."

"I doubt it… You took me by force and then you tell me you mean no harm?" Keiji controlled his anger, knowing that he has to keep his cool in his current situation. "How the hell do you know my name, anyway? And why are you taking me?"

"Keiji Kurosaki... we've known you even before you were born…" Tenjiro said nonchalantly, earning himself a glare from his companion.

"Before I was born? What the hell does that mean?" Keiji asked, turning sharply at Tenjiro.

"We cannot give you the answers you seek, Young Master... But someone requested to speak with you and only he can explain everything..." Osho stated seriously.

"Someone wants to speak with me? So is that why you're taking me by force?" he asked disbelievingly.

"We apologize, Keiji-sama, but we cannot afford to be seen with you. It is far too dangerous… So we grabbed you the moment we saw you alone. The plan was to speak with you first… But I realized when I looked at you that you will not probably come with us even if we ask nicely…" Osho stated while Keiji grunted in agreement.

An uncomfortable silence passed between them. The two men seemed to exchange glances, as if conveying something of importance.

Osho sighed heavily before looking at Keiji gravely. "I'm not sure if you already know what happened to your brother Ichigo…"

Keiji stiffened when he mentioned his brother. "Do you have anything to do with what happened to him?" he asked dangerously, flaring his reiatsu.

"We have nothing to do with it..." the other man answered, a little irritated. "That's why we're here… The enemy has started moving big time..."

"Enemy?" Keiji asked, his voice trembling a little in fear for his brother's safety. "Someone is after Ichigo?"

"Please calm down, Young Master... The enemy has started moving but they won't do anything drastic for now…" Osho said, glaring at Tenjiro before turning his attention at Keiji once more.

"We haven't introduced ourselves... I'm Osho, by the way… Osho, a Shinigami of Squad Zero. This guy's Tenjiro, from Squad Zero as well. And we're currently traveling to the Soul King's realm. His Majesty wants to speak with you… " Osho added with a smile to calm Keiji as he noticed the boy's reaitsu increasing dangerously. _'He has a terribly high reiatsu at such a young age… No wonder he was chosen…'_ he thought.

'_His Majesty? Soul Society has a King? What does their king want from me though?'_ Keiji thought. '_And why does Osho-san always refer to me as Young Master? I'll get my answers soon..._'

Keiji sighed as he sat and performed a healing kido on his injured foot with his left hand as his right hand is still holding the kido light.

When Tenjiro saw what he's doing, he slowly walked towards him. He sat beside him and placed his right hand over his injured foot. "Let me do it... You obviously don't have proper training..." he commented, making the boy frown a little.

"I usually can manage healing myself..." Keiji remarked just as Tenjiro finished healing him. "Though slower than what you can do..." he added as the man stood up and pulled Keiji with him.

'_That's the second healing kido I must learn...' _he thought as he remembered Urahara who healed him just over an hour ago. He tapped his foot, examining the injury if it is indeed healed.

Satisfied with the result, he looked up at Tenjiro beside him. "Thanks a lot Tenjiro-san. That's a superb healing kido..." The man merely grunted.

Keji turned to Osho, who was observing the two just a few feet away. "Osho-san, you said we're travelling. But I don't see us moving anywhere from this…" he gestured to the surrounding. "…this god-forsaken place."

"We're inside the Ethereal Void" Tenjiro explained instead. When he saw Keiji frowned, he added, "It's a special way of traveling through dimensions at a very high-speed… with the King's guidance, of course. We'll be there in a short while…"

"You must understand, Young Master that not anyone can just go to the King's realm. Even most high-ranking shinigamis are not allowed to just visit the King. The realm itself is sealed…" Osho stated.

"And if they are given permission to enter the realm, they use a different means of transportation" Tenjiro added.

"I've been with Squad Zero, which is the Royal Guard squad, for over a thousand years but this is my first time to experience the Ethereal Void. It is something that only the King can create and control… And only He can give permission to whoever can use it..." Osho remarked.

That surprised Keiji. '_So that means that this mission, them getting me, is a high-class one…_' he thought. His shock might have registered in his face since Tenjiro smirked at him.

"You realized then that you are someone important …" he said. "We are even specifically told not to harm you in any way…" he added with a hint of disappointment in his voice, earning another glare from Keiji and Osho.

"But what could he want from a ten-year old human like me?" he asked, taking his eyes off Tenjiro and turning to Osho.

"We cannot answer that Young Master…" Osho solemnly replied. "Please be patient... everything will be revealed to you soon."

With that said, their surrounding is slowly dissolved by light. Keiji had to cover his eyes with his arms to protect them from the brightness.

"We're here, Young Master…" Osho said calmly as the light dissipated.

Slowly, he lowered his arms and looked around.

'_It's night here as well… I wonder if time here runs in parallel with the living world'_ he thought as he looked at the moon in the dark blue cloudless sky. The palace, as he noticed is up ahead, standing over a hill-top.

'_That's a surprise…_' he thought as he stared at the imposing palace of the Soul King. Every single part of its structure appears like made from stone. The palace, as he admires it, is standing tall and elegant against the moonlight. '_It is rather Western looking, like those found in Europe during the medieval times. I thought it would have been like the ancient castles in Japan…_'

"Let's go…" Tenjiro said as Osho has started walking towards the palace, following a narrow trek leading to the hill-top. Keiji then realized that they are entering through the backdoor.

'_Is this meeting a secret then? Could the enemy be from here as well?_' he asked himself as he considered the circumstances that lead him to this place. '_Osho-san said that it is dangerous if someone sees me with them... That's why they went into so much trouble of obtaining me... Tsk... There is so much to think about..._'

Osho then cleared his throat, taking Keiji away from his stupor. "Only Squad Zero members have access here. If you try to feel as well, you will sense a barrier that protects the castle from outside spiritual attacks..." Osho stated without looking at him as he continued to walk ahead.

'_The reiatsu in this world is overwhelming…_' he felt the strain in his body like being pushed from all directions by an unseen force. He then gradually released his own reiatsu to protect his body until he felt at ease.

Osho and Tenjiro noticed the change in his reiatsu.

'_Smart kid…_' Tenjiro thought, noting how the boy had adopted quickly to the reiatsu of the realm.

Looking up at the hill-top, Keiji realized that it would probably take them several more minutes before they reach their destination in their current phase.

"Can't we use flash-step to get there?" he asked, anxious to meet the King to get answers to all the questions that had bugged him since he was abducted.

"Yes we can. But we wanted for you to first adjust to this world's reaitsu. It is rather different, right? I noticed you felt it…" Osho stated. "It will turn worse as we near the palace... Do remember, you will be in His Majesty's presence. The reiatsu that you feel here is nothing compared to His…"

"I know…" Keiji muttered impassively. '_It's a good thing that Urahara healed my wound… Else I probably have bled to death by now…_'

After minutes of walking in silence, they reached a huge stone gate that leads inside the palace grounds, which stands as high as a five-story building. There is no smaller door on it where they can enter.

'_Just how do we get inside? Climb through it? I don't think so... _' Keiji thought just as Osho placed both hands on the gate.

He then released reiatsu through his hands, reiatsu that would have made any ordinary shinigami fall to his knees or even faint due to its suffocating strength.

'_Unbelievable power..._' Keiji thought in amazement.

The reiatsu traveled into the wall, following a zigzag route until it reached all the corners of the gate before it started to rise about fifteen feet in air.

"Let's go, Young Master..." he said, flashing Keiji with a grin as he noticed his amazed expression.

'_Damn... Just how powerful is the King?_' Keiji feels the reiatsu around him going heavier as they entered the palace grounds.

"Are you alright, Young Master?" Osho asked, concerned as Keiji had increased his own reiatsu around him once more.

"I'm fine…" he replied tiredly looking back at the stone gate as it slowly return to its place.

"You're actually doing well for someone your age and without a proper training…" Tenjiro remarked. _'Just as His Majesty has predicted…'_

"Let's just get this done. I wanna go home" he uttered before he added. "I can go home after I speak with him, right?"

"Probably…" Tenjiro answered with a smirk.

"Bastard…" Keiji muttered, making Tenjiro grin more as they followed Osho.

They walked several more minutes, passing by some palace guards who bowed when they saw Osho and Tenjiro.

The palace guards are wearing the standard shinigami uniform underneath a set of black chest armor. The armor has a red insignia of an eight-rayed sun on its upper left side. Their weapon is also different from the ordinary shinigami. They carry a long spear instead of a zanpaktou.

The inside of the palace is slightly dim, lit up only by the lined torches at the wall.

Adjusting his eyes, Keiji looked around the great hall. The floor is covered with red carpet from the door to the staircase at the far end. Pillars on opposite sides rise to the ceiling. Stone statues of maidens surround each pillar while paintings of various sceneries hang on the wall.

'_Clearly Western concept..._ _What a frightening contrast…'_ Keiji thought as he considered the interior of the palace and the people that they met along the way. '_People here are dressed in Japanese traditional clothes yet they live in a European castle… The King sure doesn't have a sense of theme or something..._'

He was then taken out from his musings when Osho stopped walking in front of him to speak with a purple-haired plump woman. The woman, as Keiji noted, is wearing the same haori as Tenjiro and Osho.

"I trust that everything went well?" the woman asked, bowing her head slightly in Keiji's direction.

Keiji smiled at her just as Tenjiro replied. "Of course…"

"His Majesty is still at the throne room…" the woman said as she stepped aside to let them pass. "He's waiting for you."

"We'll speak with you later, Kirio…" Osho said, walking up the stairs before them with Keiji and Tenjiro following him.

He then stopped outside a room guarded by two palace guards. One of them opened the door.

Keiji had to blink as the room is adequately lit in comparison with the hall. The room is decorated in red and gold. Torches are lined against the walls and chandeliers with candles are hanging from the ceiling.

The two guards then moved on each side of the opened door before kneeling on one knee.

"Stay here…" Osho muttered before he walked inside, taking only a couple of steps before he too knelt on one knee.

"He is here sire…" he said serenely.

Keiji looked at the man sitting on the throne at the far end of the room. He unconsciously released his reiatsu to protect his body against the power the man is radiating.

He then noticed Tenjiro stepping inside the room and kneeling beside Osho.

"Come inside, young one…" the King said told him.

Keiji hesitantly obeyed. Taking small steps towards the king then stopping beside Osho and Tenjiro. Not knowing what to do next, he knelt as well.

The king chuckled a little. "You don't have to kneel… Come closer instead…"

Keiji looked up, unsure what to do, before he felt himself pulled up by Osho and Tenjiro.

"Go ahead, Young Master…" Osho directed softly.

The King sit further in his throne, crossing his legs and then leaning his right elbow on the side as he rested his head on his right hand. He never took his eyes off Keiji as he walked uncertainly towards him.

At a closer distance, Keiji realized that he has blonde spiky hair and a pair of strange light-purple eyes, the iris a darker shade than the schlera. Ripple-like patterns run from the iris and spread outwards to his schlera.

Unlike the rest of the people he met in this realm, the King is wearing a set of clothes that befits his palace. Like the European Kings and noble men of medieval times, he wears a blue sleeveless surcoat over a dark-blue long-sleeve shirt, a silky red coat with white fur on the neck and a knee-length pair of boots.

The King is smiling at him fondly before he addressed his retainers. "Leave us... I want to speak with him alone."

The two guards, Tenjiro and Osho all stood up to leave, bowing before they close the door behind them.

"We meet at last, Sasuke Uchiha…"


	7. Chapter 6

**A Truth Behind His Existence  
**

Previous Chapter:

"We meet at last, Sasuke Uchiha…"

* * *

Keiji stared at the king, confused at what he just called him.

'_Sasuke Uchiha? Is he referring to me?_' he thought, keeping an impassive look to mask his confusion.

The king saw through his façade though and grinned maliciously as he slowly stood up and made his way towards the confused boy.

"I'm sorry sire… But you're clearly mistaken" he finally said as the king approaches him, knowing full well that the royalty is messing with him. "I'm not Sasuke Uchiha. My name is Keiji Kurosaki. I guess your Royal guards took the wrong guy..."

"Hnn?" the king stopped in front of Keiji, folding his arms in front of him, he looked down at the boy coolly. "Osho and Tenjiro are two of my best and trusted warriors…" the king said with a hint of pride. "They don't make stupid mistakes..." he added confidently.

The boy frowned slightly as he eyed the king, scrutinizing him as the other scrutinizes him as well. At a closer look, Keiji noticed three distinct pairs of what look like scars, sketched on each side of the king's face, appearing like whiskers. His light purple eyes, though more bizarre up close, show a mischievous personality.

The king knows that Keiji is very curious about his eyes but appeared not offended by the boy's staring. In fact, he seems like enjoying the rapt look on Keiji's face.

Then without a warning, the king reached out and grabbed Keiji's head like a ball.

"I've always wanted to do this!" he guffawed merrily as he ruffled Keiji's hair while his other hand pulled on the boy's cheek. "I've always wanted to mess your duck-butt hair, Sasuke-teme!"

_'I know that royalties and such are eccentric... But damn…this is beyond eccentricity!'_ Keiji thought as he looked at the king with a deadpan expression.

'_I wonder what punishment I'll get if I kick this man's face…'_ he thought vehemently as the king continues his torture.

"Naruto… Could you please stop harassing Sasuke-kun!" a voice chided the king.

"Huh?" the king stopped laughing but continued to ruffle Keiji's hair and pull on his cheek. "What's that?" he asked nonchalantly, turning to the voice's direction.

"I SAID STOP HARASSING HIM!" a pink-haired woman appeared from the shadows and punched him in the head.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto moaned, pouting as he massages his head where Sakura hit him.

"You idiot…" Sakura sighed as she glared at the blonde king. "You haven't matured all these years…"

"Whatever…You still love me though!" Naruto grinned boyishly at her while Sakura smiled fondly, shaking her head slowly in exasperation before turning her attention to Keiji.

Keiji watched the scene with a raised eyebrow as he rubbed his reddened cheek and combed his ruffled hair using his fingers.

"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura said softly, smiling at Keiji. She then knelt in front of him, placing both hands on his shoulders as she looked at him in the eyes. Her action surprised Keiji, his eyes wide as he stared at her green eyes. It appears as though she was trying hard not to cry. "You look so much like your old self, Sasuke... Except for your hair... It's shorter and not spiky in the back..." she added, ignoring Naruto's muttering which sounded suspiciously like 'duck-butt hair still...'

'_Why do they keep calling me Sasuke? It feels like I've met them before...'_ Keiji was disrupted from his thoughts when he noticed the king walking away from them.

Naruto became serious all of a sudden. He walked back to his throne. "You must be asking yourself why you're here …" he stated in an emotionless tone which clearly meant business. "And why I've summoned you this late…" he continued as he sat on his throne.

Sakura pressed Keiji's shoulders, reassuring him before she stood up and walked towards Naruto.

"In fact I am, sire… very much confused that is…" Keiji answered, glancing at Sakura as she stood on Naruto's side.

'_Could she be the queen?_' he thought as he noticed the way she dressed like a medieval noble woman, complementing the king's medieval clothing.

'_She is beautiful…_' he added, noticing how her simple red and white tight gown accentuates the color of her long pink hair, which is tied up elegantly.

"We've been waiting for you for thousands of years, my friend…" Naruto said serenely, giving him a smile that appears more sad than happy.

"Waiting for me? Why?" Keiji asked, confused once again, and he did not bother to hide it this time.

"Let's just say that we've known each other in our past life…" Naruto answered with a sigh. "No… We did not just know each other. We were friends, comrades and even brothers in all but blood…"

"W-what?" Keiji uttered his surprise, glancing at Sakura and then the king to see if they are truly serious. He saw only sadness and pain in their faces that seemed to confirm what the king said.

'_Did my death bring too much pain and sadness to them?'_ Keiji asked himself and could not understand why he felt guilty.

"It is a long story. For now, the most important thing for you to know is that you were once Sasuke Uchiha, a shinobi from Konohagakure no Sato. You died fighting along us to protect our world, the world of shinobi..." Naruto stated.

"Shinobi? You mean I was a ninja? And there is a world full of them?" Keiji asked, becoming interested despite himself.

"Yes, you were a ninja like us. We grew up together… Trained together, and for a time, we fought each other. In the end though, you came back to us and before our very eyes… you died a hero…" Naruto added in the same emotionless tone.

"We all searched for your soul in the Dark Abyss where most souls in our former world eventually end up… And when we found you, we took you to a family to hide you from our enemies... A family who are spiritually aware so nobody would ask why you can see hollows and shinigami and why you have an unusually large amount of reaitsu…" Sakura continued.

"We implanted your soul on the womb of Masaki Kurosaki without her and her husband knowing… There, your physical body eventually formed" Naruto added.

Keiji gritted his teeth in anger at the knowledge about his existence. "So my very existence is orchestrated? What are you trying to accomplish in doing this? Are you trying to manipulate me? Planning my life as if it's your right just because you're the king…" he almost yelled.

Sakura bowed her head in guilt while Naruto averted his eyes.

"What we did is wrong... I know that. But it's our only way of protecting you… The battle that we fought in our world is not finished as we thought. More than a decade ago, we were not the only ones looking for your soul…"

Keiji's anger immediately disappeared and replaced by uneasiness. He sighed deeply, trying to regain his cool. "But if I died before you did, how come you're older than me? Shouldn't I be the one who's supposed to be older? " Keiji asked, frowning as more questions came up than answered.

"You died just after the war while we died tragically years after. The shinobi world died with us. All our souls were then sent thousands of years in the past of this realm instead of being sent to the Dark Abyss like you…" Sakura answered.

"Why? How did you all die?" Keiji asked as Sakura nervously glanced at Naruto.

Keiji noticed the king's reiatsu flared abruptly before Sakura placed a comforting hand at his shoulder.

Naruto took deep breaths before he shook his head slowly. "I'm sorry. But that story is for some other time, when we are ready… Let's discuss the most important matter at hand…"

Keiji frowned. He feels like his head will blow any moment from all the questions he wants answered. "Fine…" he agreed for the moment.

"I believe you are already aware of what happened to your brother... He almost died trying to stop two high-ranking shinigami from arresting Rukia Kuchiki…" Naruto started.

"I'm well aware of that…" Keiji said impassively.

"Someone is moving against us among the shinigamis. They might be after the throne. They apprehended Rukia Kuchiki to create unrest in Soul Society, thereby diverting everyone's attention away from their actions. It appears that they are expecting your brother to rescue her in a few days time. When all eyes will be on your brother, they will execute their plans in the shadows…"

"What do you want me to do then? Stop my brother from rescuing Kuchiki?" Keiji asked, knowing well that is not the best option. His brother Ichigo is very difficult to handle at times. When he wants something, he won't stop until he gets it.

"No. She is after all, his friend and comrade. It is his right to rescue her. I'm telling you this because we believe that the people behind all these events might be connected to our enemies back then. They are after you, Sasuke…" Naruto said, looking at him in the eyes. "And also, if something will happen to me… I have chosen you to replace me…"

"WHAT? REPLACE YOU?" Keiji exclaimed as he was not expecting Naruto to say that he wants him to be the next king.

"The enemy has started to move more than a century ago…" Sakura continued. "A high-ranking shinigami of Gotei Thirteen was involved in a crime that, we think, he did not do. Several others were persecuted and became victims of that crime. We could not do anything as we respect the jurisdiction of Gotei 13 and Central 46 over the matter. And also, the enemy is good at cleaning his tracks... too well that we think he has accomplices in this realm as well. We have suspects…just suspects though. We cannot find any evidence to arrest, however…" Sakura explained.

"But what does that got to do with me? Why are you choosing me to replace you?" Keiji asked Naruto.

Naruto sighed as he closed his eyes and massaged his temple. "Are you not even listening?" he asked impatiently as if talking to a five-year old kid.

"I AM LISTENING!" Keiji yelled, panting as he feels the strain of reiatsu around him too much. He fell to his knees while both Naruto and Sakura immediately appeared at his side.

"Sorry, Your Majesty…" he mumbled, panting as he tried to catch his breath.

"Call me Naruto, not 'Your Majesty' or 'Sire'… Just Naruto…" Naruto said as he helps Keiji to his feet while Sakura performs a kido to keep him calm.

"Thank you… I'm fine now…" he told Sakura who looked at him with concern.

"Sakura… call me Sakura…" the pink-haired woman stated.

He nodded as he took deep breaths. "If they are after the throne, then it means that they are after your life as well… And you believe that someone in this realm is involved that is why we arrived secretly here, right? And you chose this moment to tell me because they won't expect you to make your own move right away..."

"Quite perceptive as expected… Yes. That's correct…" Naruto confirmed.

"They are after you… that I can understand since you are the king... You have the power and position they wanted. But why are they after me? I am no one…" Keiji's voice started to become desperate. If someone is after him, his family might get involved. "Do they have a grudge against me for whatever I did in my previous life?"

"That and your power… You have an ability that they wanted. So if you want to protect yourself and your family, I would suggest to you to start learning the ways of the shinigami" Naruto said.

Keiji looked at Naruto with determination in his eyes. "I will…" he stated like a promise to his very soul. "You still did not answer why you are choosing me to replace you though…

Naruto chuckled softly. "'Coz I know you well. You are my friend, my comrade and my brother in everything but blood… I know you will become a great king" Naruto said with conviction.

"I don't think I'll ever accept that responsibility" Keiji stated tiredly. "I honestly can't understand myself right now. I feel the need to protect you both and I can't understand why. It could be because of our bond back then but I can't remember it... I feel guilt in my heart and yet I don't know what I did to have such emotion."

Sakura felt a lump in her throat at what Keiji said. _'Is that what Sasuke felt before?'_

Naruto watched Keiji with sadness. _'I hope this time you'll make the right choices, Sasuke…'_

"Everything will become clear eventually…" Naruto reassured Keiji as he noticed the boy who used to be his friend Sasuke, clenched his fist in uncertainty.

Shaking his head, Keiji appears to say something but decided not to. Sakura looked at him with concern, glancing at Naruto as if asking what to do to help their friend.

"This is too much for me…" Keiji stated with tremor in his voice, reflecting his emotions.

"I know… And you don't have to do everything on your own. We'll help you, Sasuke…" Sakura said to comfort him.

Naruto placed a hand on Keiji's shoulder. "You look very tired. I should be sending you back…" Naruto said as a swirling portal appeared behind Keiji. "Before you leave though, I want you to take this" Naruto gestured to his open palm as particles seem to gather over it, forming what Keiji recognized as a sword.

"It's an asauchi… a nameless zanpaktou. This however is special... Only you can use it and even in your human form..." Sakura explained as Keiji took the sword from Naruto.

"I'll give you the Ethereal Void seal so you can travel back here anytime you wanted… I bet the others would want to meet you, too... " Naruto smiled as he took Keiji's wrist. Light enveloped Naruto's hand as he wrote the seal around Keiji's right wrist. "If your brother will infiltrate Soul Society, go with him... The enemy will eventually show his face. I can't help you there though... You'll be on your own."

Sakura watched the exchange between the two. _'Naruto has changed so much... If it was the old Naruto, he would run to Sasuke immediately without thinking of the consequences of his action...'_

"I understand. You have your own worries..." Keiji replied.

Then without a warning, Naruto pushed Keiji into the portal.

"Until next time, Sasuke-teme… " he said with a grin as the portal closes gradually. "Be careful, my friend…"

When the portal closed, Naruto and Sakura were left alone in the throne room. "What's with that face, Sakura? You don't have to be sad, you know… We'll see him again soon" he wrapped his arms around Sakura, pulling her to his chest.

Surrendering in his embrace, Sakura leaned her head on Naruto's chest. "I'm afraid to lose any of you again… Promise me, I won't lose you…" she stated as she buried her face deeper in Naruto's chest.

"I can't promise you that… I'll try though…" Naruto said softly before he placed a chaste kiss on Sakura's forehead, to which the woman lightly punch him on the chest.

"I've told you thousands of times… No kissing on my big forehead!" she whined.

"And I've told you thousands of times, too… You don't have to be too conscious about it. It's perfect!" Naruto said soothingly, kissing Sakura's forehead again.

Both are silent for a moment as they stayed in each other's arms, enjoying each other's warmth.

"I wonder... If Sasuke's clan has not been killed, would he become like this? He's more talkative than he ever was, that's for sure, and more expressive in his emotions, too..." Sakura said fondly as Naruto started to caress her hair. "I'm glad, he grew up to be a fine boy…"

"You sound like an old woman right now…" Naruto said, chuckling softly as he caught Sakura's chin, tilting her head slightly such that they look at each other in the eyes.

Sakura smiled at him sweetly, too sweetly that Naruto realized what he just said.

"What did you just say?" she asked, smiling still as she flared her reiatsu a bit.

"N-nothing Sakura-chan… Nothing…" Naruto said, grinning apologetically as he scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

Sakura shook her head in exasperation at Naruto's antics before leaning on his chest again, sighing in comfort.

"We'll see him again, Sakura… Believe it…"


	8. Chapter 7

**Awakening**

Previous Chapter:

_"We'll see him again, Sakura… Believe it…"_

* * *

After Keiji left, Kisuke immediately went inside his shop and stayed at Ichigo's side, watching as Tessai healed the younger man. His friend, the black cat named Yoruichi, stayed as well, mildly to his surprise. He thought that she would have patrolled around Karakura by then as she usually did.

"What are you planning, Kisuke?" Yoruichi asked restlessly, pacing around the room.

"Train him, of course… Help him regain his shinigami powers" Kisuke said as he reached out his right hand towards Ichigo's head and caressed the younger man's hair. The action was awkward as Tessai was still on top of Ichigo, performing his healing kido. "He will surely go after Kuchiki-san…" he added.

"Then we have to warn him against the enemy he'll face…" Yoruichi remarked as she sat opposite Kisuke on Ichigo's other side.

"I don't think that is a good idea…" Kisuke commented, causing Yoruichi to frown at him. He raised his hand, silencing Yoruichi who was about to disagree. "Let me explain, Yoruichi-san…"

Yoruichi forced herself to calm as she stared at Kisuke, waiting for whatever reason he had to say.

"You see… Ichigo has a superhero complex…" he started with a fond smile. "If he finds out the truth behind Kuchiki-san's arrest, he will go after that man and that's the last thing I want him to do…" Kisuke said softly as he continued to caress the younger man's hair. "Even if he does restore his shinigami abilities, Ichigo is still an ant to Aizen's monstrous power."

Yoruichi sighed, conceding to Kisuke's reasoning. "Fine… But he won't probably be happy when he finds out that you withhold information from him..."

"I know. But if that will keep him safe, then I'm satisfied…" Kisuke said softly, a flicker of pain was reflected in his eyes for a moment.

Yoruichi could only watch him as he tenderly held Ichigo's hand. She has seen Kisuke in such situation before. She has seen him fell in love and it did not end up well. So at the moment, Yoruichi looked worried that history might repeat itself.

"Be careful, Kisuke…" Yoruichi said as she stood up and walked towards the door.

Understanding what she meant, Kisuke could only smile and nod.

"I'm going out for a bit. I'll be back tomorrow morning…" Yoruichi informed.

But before she could reach the door, Kisuke called her name. "Yoruichi-san!"

She turned to him and noticed his goofy grin. _'And what does he need from me this time?'_ she thought, sighing inwardly.

"What do you need this time, Kisuke?" she asked with a slight scowl.

"Oh? Whatever are you saying, Yoruichi-san?" he asked in return, his eyes reflecting mischief. "I was just going to tell you to be careful on your midnight stroll..."

At seeing his friend's glare, Kisuke resorted to covering the lower half of his face with his foldable fan. "Fine, fine… You got me…" he said, trying to appease the black cat as she had bared her claws.

He became serious all of a sudden as he looked at his friend in the eyes. He folded his fan before continuing. "Ichigo has some friends who have high reaitsu like him. Not as good as his, but decent enough if they are trained. If he goes to Soul Society to rescue Kuchiki-san, he will need all their help to come back alive…"

"I understand… you want me to train them, huh…" Yoruichi remarked as she continued walking towards the door. "Fine… Let's talk about it tomorrow…" she added as she closed the sliding door with her paw.

Minutes had passed since Yoruichi left but Kisuke remained in his place, unmoving as he held Ichigo's hand.

"You should take a rest, tencho…" Tessai suggested as he noticed dark circles formed around Kisuke's eyes.

"I'm fine. Tessai-san" he refused politely. "Besides I'm - " Kisuke tensed suddenly as he felt a strong surge of reiatsu hitting his senses. He frowned as he tried to sense whose reiatsu it was and where it was coming from. '_It's as strong as the Gotei 13 Captain-Commander's reiatsu… Yamamoto-sotaicho..._' he thought uneasily as the massive reiatsu was pressing on his body.

"Whose reiatsu is this?" Kisuke voiced out as he and Tessai stood up with a little difficulty.

"I'm not familiar with the reiatsu…" Tessai remarked, looking tense as well.

"Stay here, Tessai-san and continue healing Ichigo… I'll go out to investigate…" Kisuke said as he rushed towards the source of the enormous reiatsu.

'_It's near the park…'_ he thought and flash-stepped towards that direction.

He caught up with Yoruichi on the way. "Yoruichi-san!" he called out, stopping in his tracks when Yoruichi stopped as well.

"Do you know whose reiatsu this is?" Kisuke asked, panting a little.

"Don't you recognize it?" the black cat asked, a hint of disbelief and irritation laced her voice. "It's that kid… Keiji Kurosaki…"

Kisuke focused on the reiatsu and true enough, although the reiatsu was far more powerful, it was certainly Keiji's.

"So this is his true strength… I wonder what caused this to happen…" he mumbled before he flash-stepped towards the boy. "Let's go, Yoruichi-san" he shouted.

A few more minutes, they arrived at where Keiji was. They saw him standing in the middle of the street, eyes closed, reiatsu flaring, and his right hand holding a sword.

The boy suddenly opened his eyes and shouted a commanding phrase.

"Burn all creations, Homusubi!"

* * *

**[After Naruto pushed Keiji into the Ethereal Void...]**

_'Not again…'_ Keiji thought when he was once again surrounded by the darkness of the Ethereal Void.

'_Damn this void…' _The last thing he remembered was Naruto pushing him into the portal.

As such, he found his self traveling back to the living world just as how Squad Zero transported him to the realm of the king.

He clutched his asauchi in his right hand while his left hand casts a kido to create light.

'_Keiji… Can you hear me…_' the deep voice of his black dragon zanpaktou resounded in his mind.

'_I can hear you clearly…_' he answered, clutching the sword to his chest.

The truth behind his existence troubled him seriously but he can't let himself wallow in anger knowing that his family is in danger. He needed to get stronger to protect them.

'_We're closer than before…_' the black dragon stated, satisfied with the turn of events. '_Prepare yourself, Keiji… Your travel to the realm of the king has triggered your sealed reiatsu to increase violently…_'

'_I thought I had it under control_' he exclaimed with a hint of panic in his voice.

'_What you were accessing before was merely a small part of your reiatsu. The king sealed most of your reiatsu when you were young to protect you…_' the dragon explained. '_Your body just unsealed this power when you were subjected to the enormous reiatsu of that realm. You have to train more to control that power_.'

'_I got it…_' Keiji agreed.

He then smirked, realizing that he can finally become a shinigami with the aid of the asauchi. '_I can finally use your power…_' he said as he tightened his gripped on the nameless zanpaktou.

'_There's a difference between simply using my power and commanding my power…_' the dragon stated as it increased its own reaitsu.

Keiji in turn, closed his eyes as he forced his raging reiatsu to stabilize. '_Then show me how to command your power…_'

'_Come forth, Keiji. We are one… Your fear is my fear. Your strength is my strength. Together, we'll get stronger. Together we'll conquer!_'

Keiji opened his eyes to the world of his zanpaktou. The dimly lit cave at which he often spent time with the dragon has completely changed. He looked upwards and realized that the cave ceiling had opened to the blue sky. He then turned around and looked at the dragon in front of him, looking straight at its ruby eyes, its three tomoes were spinning madly.

"You know what to call me now, Keiji…" it said, roaring fiercely, spreading its wings as it readied itself to fly. "Now, shout my name!"

"Burn all creations, Homusubi!" Keiji cried out, opening his eyes. He was surprised to clearly see reiatsu of different colors radiating everywhere. He then realized that he has arrived in the world of the living where he was exactly taken by Squad Zero, his skateboard lying on the ground not far from him.

'_We have the same eyes now, Keiji… Use them well..._' his zanpaktou Homusubi said.

'_What do you mean by that?_' Keiji asked as he remembered Homusubi's strange ruby colored eyes with tomoes.

'_Our eyes are special, Keiji and you'll soon find out…_' the zanpaktou added with a smirk.

'_Well, I already noticed that…I can see reiatsu everywhere…'_ Keiji thought as he looked around him.

'_Seeing the manifestation of reiatsu is not so much special. Others with high reiatsu can see it, too. Although they can only see it when the reiatsu is too condensed…'_ Homusubi remarked. '_We, however… We can see even the weakest reiatsu that radiates from non living things… But this is not the only ability of our eyes… You'll find out the rest some other time…_'

'_It's making me a little dizzy though…_' Keiji grimaced.

'_Get used to it, brat…_' Homusubi bit out.

'_Fine… jeez… You're as pleasant as ever..._' Keiji mumbled as he felt two reiatsu nearby. _'It looks like Urahara and that cat are here…'_ he thought before noticing that his clothing has changed. In place of his pants and shirt is a set of shinigami uniform.

He raised his sword against the moonlight, appreciating the elegant black blade that was his zanpaktou. Clutching it tightly with his hand, he smirked proudly.

Homusubi, his zanpaktou, has turned into a black, slightly curved, single-edged sword with a square guard. It had a long hilt like other zanpaktou which allowed its wielder to hold it with both hands. The hilt, which was mostly black, was decorated with red tomoes, one pair on each side. One head of the tomoe was near the upper end of the hilt while the other head was near the lower end. Their tails pointed at the center, almost touching, and formed what looked like a red wave.

"Now what?" Keiji mumbled as he watched the sky ripped open from another dimension. A hollow as big as a ten-storey building slowly emerged from the opening.

'_I felt a similar reiatsu like this before…'_ Keiji thought as he watched what he suspected as a higher class hollow slowly making its way towards him.

'_That's a gillian…'_ the zanpaktou informed him. '_It is very different to the ones you've fought so far… Be careful, Keiji'_

'_Of course…_' he replied with a smirk as he felt the thrill of an incoming fight.

Keiji jumped on top of a two-storey building, waiting for an opening to attack the giant hollow. As the hollow opened its mouth and fired a ray of condensed reaitsu at him, Keiji immediately jumped out of its path and moved in a flash-step, appearing a second later in front of the creature's head, before delivering a vertical slash downwards.

The hollow was split in two before it gradually dispersed into spirit particles.

'_That hollow attack was cero... You're good to dodge it fast..._' Homusubi commented.

'_That was easy…_' Keiji thought with pride.

'_Don't get full of yourself, Keiji… That attitude will get you nowhere...'_ Homusubi admonished him. _  
_

_Sorry…'_ he told his zanpaktou awkwardly.

'_My job is done at the moment…_' the zanpaktou said. _'I'll place my seal on your left wrist… Draw your blood over it to summon me…'_ he added before dispersing into spirit particles that scattered in all directions before converging around Keiji, moving fast towards his left wrist before etching a pattern around it.

And just as Homusubi said, a seal appeared around his left wrist. _'Great, another tattoo on my wrist…'_ he thought as his right wrist carried the seal of Ethereal Void that Naruto gave him.

He then became aware of the fact that he was wearing his pants and shirt in place of his shinigami clothes. _'I'm back to my human form… Cool…'_

Pleased with finally becoming a shinigami, he then went to retrieve his skateboard, knowing that Urahara and Yoruichi appeared behind him.

"Wow! That is some theatrics you showed there, Keiji-kun…" Kisuke exclaimed foolishly fanning himself vigorously.

"I didn't know you appreciate theatrics, Urahara-san… I would have done better…" Keiji replied sarcastically as he picked up his skateboard. "Why are you here anyway? I would have thought that you'd be spending some quality time with my brother by now…"

"Nah… I simply went out for a walk… I left him in Tessa-san's care" Kisuke stated folding his fan with a snap.

Yoruichi, who was watching the exchange between the two, was starting to become annoyed.

"Is that even wise? Leaving him in another man's care, I mean…" Keiji remarked teasingly.

"Oh? I trust Tessai-san… But of course, he does know that if he so much looks at Ichigo the wrong way, I'll cut him to pieces…" Kisuke said, chuckling.

"You are quite possessive… Hmm… I can't decide if that's good or bad for my brother at this moment…" Keiji said, narrowing his eyes on Kisuke. "Maybe later… I'll let you know what I have to say about the matter…" he added nonchalantly.

"Thank you!" Kisuke replied rather stupidly. "You're very considerate!"

Yoruichi had enough, coughing slightly to get their attention, she glared at both. "Are you two quite finished? Kisuke, you do know that we went here not to talk about Ichigo with this kid…"

"I apologize, Yoruichi-san... I got carried away..." Kisuke said, scratching the back of his head uneasily as Yoruichi narrowed her eyes.

Keiji was not paying any attention at what the two were discussing. Instead he looked intently at a nearby tree, not blinking.

Sighing heavily, he then called out. "You can come out now, Dad…"

Yoruichi and Kisuke both gawked at Keiji, not expecting him to see through a high-level concealing kido.

"Oh? You found me! Hahaha…" Isshin chuckled before emerging from the shadows. "I think I'm getting rusty…" he added as he stared at Keiji seriously.

"I highly doubt that…" Kisuke remarked as he and Yoruichi stared at Keiji as well.

'_What's with those stares…_'


	9. Chapter 8

**Author's Note:**

**Please let me know what you think about this chapter. Leave a review!**

* * *

**Title Here**

Previous Chapter:

_"Oh? You found me! Hahaha…" Isshin chuckled before emerging from the shadows. "I think I'm getting rusty…" he remarked as he stared at Keiji seriously._

_"I highly doubt that…" Kisuke remarked as he and Yoruichi stared at Keiji as well._

_'What's with those stares…?'_

* * *

[Keiji's POV…]

Reality struck Keiji in the face, a feeling like he had just come to his senses. The exhilarating sensation he had when he released his zanpaktou was suddenly replaced by apprehension. Now that his father found out about his shinigami ability, he has a lot of explaining to do.

'_That's what you get when power gets into your head…_' Homusubi scorned. '_Now look at what you get yourself into…_'

'_Shut it! You did not really stop me earlier so you don't have any right to admonish me now!_' Keiji replied indignantly. '_I have a plan how to get out of this situation…_'

'_I just hope it will work…_' Homusubi remarked with a defeated tone.

'_It will…_' Keiji grimaced as he mastered all his emotions and turned his eyes away from his father.

* * *

[Isshin's POV]

'_What happened to his eyes?'_ Isshin thought. It was the first thing he noticed when Keiji called him out from his hiding place.

His son's eyes seemed to glow in the dark. Their color had changed. The black that was similar with his own turned ruby with three tomoes on each. It was a frightening sight, looking straight unto them. It made him think if those eyes can see through kido as Keiji did not seem to have any trouble in sensing him.

'_Is it perhaps his zanpaktou's ability?_' he thought worriedly. Ability like Keiji's would definitely not go unnoticed by Soul Society or their enemies. They will come after Keiji. With his oldest son almost killed by shinigamis, he could not have his other son suffer the same experience.

He walked closer to Keiji as he noticed his son's detached demeanor has kicked in.

"That is quite some feat you did there, my boy! I haven't met anyone who can get rid of a Gillian just minutes after becoming a shinigami…" Isshin started in a carefree tone, not wanting Keiji to close himself off from him.

Isshin's eyes fell on the tattoo on both Keiji's wrist. Continuing his happy charade, he grinned at his son. "Well, I guess that's quite normal today, huh?" he asked offhandedly while his friend Kisuke nodded vigorously in agreement.

"And for a ten-year old kid to have a reiatsu as strong as the Gotei Thirteen Captain-Commander is not unusual, too!" Kisuke chipped in as Yoruichi sighed in irritation.

"Nor a shinigami sealing his zanpaktou in a tattoo around his wrist…!" Isshin cheerily said. "That's so ordinary!" he remarked sarcastically.

Keiji remained detached, unaffected by the their childish game of interrogation. He turned his gaze to the road ahead, clearly wanting to leave. He dropped his skateboard, but hesitated to leave for a moment. Sighing, he then turned to his father with an unemotional demeanor, looking at him straight in the eyes.

"If you are expecting an explanation for everything that has happened here, shouldn't you be doing that first? Seeing as I inherited my shinigami power from you…" Keiji stated coldly.

"Do you have any idea what my siblings and I had to go through? We are different from other kids…" he continued callously. "But then… I realized that I was different even from my siblings… They could see and feel spirits around them but they could not see those shinigamis or those monstrous hollows like I could… I could not ask anyone about it, thinking that I was getting crazy… All I wanted to know was why I am different…"

Isshin bowed his head in shame. He opened his mouth for a couple of times, appearing like he wanted to say something, but did otherwise.

"Our lives were placed in danger for a couple of times because of our ability …" Keiji frowned. "And you did not do anything… You were there, near mother's grave that day, but you did not do anything… Ichi-nii almost died earlier and you did not do anything… You always leave us on our own..." he said before he decided to leave, seeing the guilt and pain in his father's face.

* * *

[With Keiji…]

Keiji felt terrible as he rode his skateboard home. He felt the cool night wind hit his face as hot tears slowly pour down his cheeks.

'_Sorry, Dad… I do not mean to blame you for anything… But it's for the best…_ _Damn it!'_ he cursed as he took a deep shaky breath, remembering the guilt and pain in his father's face before he left.

'_Was being cold to your father really necessary?'_ Homusubi asked in concern.

'_I had to… Else I would explain everything to him… My travel to the king's realm, Naruto, Sakura… and how they hid my soul by forcing it into my mother's womb …'_ he responded with a heavy heart.

'_Couldn't you just lie to him?'_ Homusubi suggested considerately.

'_As much as I wanted to, my father is not what he seems… He will see through my lies…'_ Keiji said as he suddenly halted, picked up his skateboard and then walked to a nearby tree. He sat on the ground, his back leaning against the tree trunk.

'_Won't he see through the lies that you said back there?'_

'_No…I know him… His guilt would not make him think straight for now… And he would keep his distance for sometime… That way, I'll be able to keep my secret…'_ he sighed heavily as he wiped the tears on his face.

'_What about your brother and your sisters?_'

'_I'll ask Urahara to train me and go to Soul Society with Ichigo… As for my sisters… I'll always protect them… I'll come up with something to keep them safe even if I'm away…_' If Homusubi was puzzled how his wielder will carry out such a feat, he did not say a thing about it.

'_I wish… that everything will right itself…'_ Keiji smiled sadly. '_But that is just a wishful thinking…'_

_'You're not telling me everything...' _Homusubi accused. _'I think... partly... the reason you wanted to distance yourself from your father was that you're afraid that someday he will find out the truth about your soul... The truth that the king used your family to hide and protect you... You're afraid that they will turn their back on you...'_

Keiji did not say a thing knowing that Homusubi knew him too well to deny his accusation.

* * *

[With Isshin…]

Isshin continued to stare at the ground, unmoving even when his son left minutes ago.

"Hey…" Kisuke started softly, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder to catch his attention. "Let's go to my shop for some tea…" he added, pushing his friend a little to make him move.

"Sure…" Isshin answered back, following Kisuke and Yoruichi inattentively.

Both Kisuke and Yoruichi kept glancing at him with pity, not accustomed at seeing their friend with such a vulnerable face.

Isshin stopped in his tracks suddenly, his friends doing the same when they noticed him. "I'm a terrible father…" he muttered emotionally.

"You're not… It's just that Keiji does not know the circumstances why you have to hide the truth…" Kisuke remarked.

"I think I need to be alone for a while…" Isshin stated as he turned to Kisuke. "Keiji seems to open up to you… Take care of him, Kisuke. Take good care of him and Ichigo…" he said as he vanished, his words were softly carried by the midnight air.

"I will my friend… I will…" Kisuke promised, looking at Isshin's direction.

* * *

[The following day…]

Waking up with a terrible headache, Keiji grimaced as he massaged his temple, sighing in irritation before he glanced at the clock on his bedside table.

"Almost five in the afternoon? I slept in…" he mumbled as he stood up and made his way downstairs, feeling famished as he hadn't had anything to eat yet.

'_I wonder where everyone is…_' he thought as he tried to sense the reiatsu of his family. He found Yuzu at home, in the kitchen. Ichigo was still in school while Karin was in town. Their father however, was nowhere to be found.

Feeling a lump in his throat when his thoughts went to his father, he sighed heavily as he slowly dragged his body towards their kitchen. '_I hope you're alright, Dad…'_ he thought guiltily.

"Oh, glad you're awake…" Keiji was greeted by his sister Yuzu who had just finished cleaning their kitchen.

Taking his seat on their dining table, he glanced around as his sister went to the sink and washed her hands. '_Immaculately clean… as expected from Yuzu-nee_' he thought with a smile.

"Let me wash my hands then I'll prepare something for you…" Yuzu said. "Do you have something you want to eat?" she asked, looking happy at the idea of cooking for Keiji.

"Some hotdogs and bacon would be great, Yuzu-nee…" Keiji replied, trying to lookhappy in front of his sister lest she would suspect something was amiss.

"Alright then!" Yuzu exclaimed as she opened the fridge and took out everything she needed to cook Keiji's meal.

Keiji watched his sister cook as the latter was too absorbed in what she was doing, not even noticing the look of amusement in her brother's face. '_She looks so much like Mom… I wonder if she acts like her, too…' _

He then frowned when he remembered their mother. '_What would she say if she finds out that her youngest son was forced into her womb?'_ _  
_

The more times he thought about it, the more he felt guilty about his existence. He gritted his teeth in irritation as he felt his headache got worse. '_I won't waste my time on such negative thoughts... I need to get stronger to protect them!'_

"Keiji-kun! Are you supposed to be out of bed already?" Yuzu asked suddenly, interrupting his thoughts as she looked up from the pan of bacon she's frying. "You were just released from the hospital yesterday… I'm not sure if you're supposed to be walking around already…" she eyed her brother with concern.

Keiji smiled at his sister, trying to assure her. "I'm fine Yuzu-nee. Where are the others by the way?" he asked, deciding to talk about something else.

"Well…" she looked depressed all of a sudden though Keiji noticed that like him, she was trying to keep a happy façade. "Dad left this morning and will be away for a while… He said he will participate in an important study in Tokyo… He might be there for a while... Ichi-nii is still in school, though he said he'll be leaving as well tomorrow morning to attend a summer camp… And Karin is in town with Yoruichi-san…"

'_Youruichi?_' Keiji thought in surprise. "Yoruichi? Who is she?" he asked.

"Oh! She's Dad's friend. She and Kisuke-san were here this morning when Dad left… They will look after us while he's not here! Yoruichi-san is so beautiful! She's nice too! And Karin-chan says she's so cool as well!" Yuzu continued talking animatedly as she placed the plate of food in front of Keiji.

'_They're here…_' Keiji thought as he sensed Karin's and Yoruichi's reiatsu approaching.

Just then, the door to the kitchen opened and Karin, carrying a paper bag full of groceries, walked in followed closely by a tall, slim woman with dark skin.

The woman has a long black hair that was tied back in a pony tail. She was wearing a tight sleeveless orange shirt with a v neck line paired with a tight pair of pants.

'_So… This is the cat's true form…'_ Keiji thought in shock as he noticed that the woman's eyes were the same with that of the cat.

"You must be Keiji… It's so nice to finally meet you! Your Dad always talks about you…" she said cheerily in a fake tone, a smirk was playing on her face as she offered Keiji her hand to shake.

Keiji shook her hand grudgingly so as not to arouse any suspicion from his sisters. As Yuzu and Karin had their backs towards Keiji and Yoruichi while placing the perishable stuffs inside the fridge, Yoruichi leaned closer towards him. "You might have stopped both Kisuke and your father from finding out about your secret… But you cannot stop me, little Keiji… Now, I'm about to learn what you did not want your father to know about…" she whispered in his ear.

Keiji's demeanor suddenly became cold, his eyes showing a dangerous glint as the other straightened with a triumphant smirk before turning away from him.

"I'll take a walk outside, Karin-chan, Yuzu-chan…"she exclaimed as she almost used a flash-step to go out of the house. "See you later, Kei-chan!"

"Were-cat…" Keiji muttered. '_You want to play, huh! Fine… I'll play with you!_' he thought with a smirk of his own.

* * *

[Yoruichi's POV…]

'_What's with that kid?_' Yoruichi thought as she flash-stepped from a roof to another while making her way to the Urahara shop. '_One moment, he appears like any normal boy… Then suddenly he appears so cold and dangerous… It was like standing next to a different person… His eyes changed in color for a second there... like what happened last night…_'

She came to a halt, landing gracefully in front of the Urahara shop. The door of the shop opened as Kisuke himself emerged from the door.

"Oh! Good afternoon, Yoruichi-san" the carefree owner of the shop greeted.

"I already talked with Orihime Inoue, Chad Yasutora and Uryuu Ishida… They had confirmed… They will go to Soul Society with Ichigo…" she stated seriously. '_I wonder why I haven't told Kisuke about my suspicions of that kid yet…'_ she thought with a frown.

"Thank you… You look exhausted…" Kisuke commented, noticing the frown on his friends face. "Would you like a cup of tea?" he offered.

Yoruichi shook her head, right to left, as she stretched her arms upwards. "No. I'll be going back to the Kurosaki's immediately… You have to think of who'll look after them when I start training Ichigo's friends… You can't ask Tessai since I'm sure he'll be assisting you…"

Kisuke became serious as he turned his gaze towards the sky. "I called Shinji earlier…" he said softly, surprising Yoruichi. "I asked him to stand as guardian for Isshin's kids while you're busy… Isshin knows about it, of course… And Shinji was willing to take the responsibility…"

"You could have asked someone else…" Yoruichi muttered. "You had a past with that man…"

"A war is about to happen, Yoruichi-san…" Kisuke said tiredly. "I think it's time to mend fences with him… We cannot win this war on our own…"

Deciding to change the subject, she then continued. "What about Keiji Kurosaki? Shouldn't we convince him to join Ichigo, too?"

"Convince me?" a voice said suddenly as the space in front of the two seemed to distort. Keiji, dressed in his shinigami clothes, emerged from a concealing kido similar with what his father used that night. "You don't need to do that…" he stated. "I volunteer…"


End file.
